PLEASANTON, Calif., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- California real estate investors frustrated by appreciation declines in local investment properties, are moving their equity to downcycle defiant markets out-of-state.
Due to the various factors impacting California housing prices, it's likely that investors won't see returns on a real basis for an extended period of time. As California moves through the mortgage/real estate chaos, one of the more interesting changes is to the real estate investor psychology, as the mood shifts from "only in my backyard" to one where investing is properly viewed as a "buying in fundamentally sound markets -- wherever they may be."
"What we are seeing is real estate investors seizing the opportunity to grow their real estate portfolios," said Frank Richards, CEO of NorthPoint. "Our clients view current events as a window of opportunity to get premium value on their investment dollar by investing in markets with sound fundamentals."
What's happening in California isn't necessarily indicative of markets across the entire country. Despite the headlines, real estate is not universally decreasing. According to a report recently released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), there are a number of fundamentally sound markets that have performed favorably year-over-year, including through the second quarter of 2007. Approximately two-thirds of the 149 markets surveyed registered home pricing increases thanks to strong local economic growth and affordable housing prices. Similar counter-cyclical markets can be found inside large market metros, where select micro-market neighborhoods defy the national downward cycle.
"There was a time I would never consider buying investment property outside of California, but the equity in my local investments was no longer working for me" said Janice Welborn, a long-time real estate investor and NorthPoint client. "Based on the data and research I was shown, I know these markets will perform favorably over the long-term, so I now own seven investment properties outside of California. It's like investing here in the San Francisco Bay Area twenty years ago."
With the California real estate market returning to a pre-housing boom environment with slowing appreciation, full service companies that offer a complete solution for real estate investing nationally, are in demand. "It's difficult to attribute this surge in business to recent headlines or events" said Richards, "but based on our growth year over year it's clear that investors understand the unique opportunity presented by current events and are acting on it before it passes them by."
About NorthPoint Real Estate Investment Services
NorthPoint is the only national real estate investment company that offers a complete solution for real estate investors. Drawing on years of experience, exhaustive research and a wealth of knowledge around real estate investment and financial strategies, NorthPoint is creating greater wealth for our clients. We achieve this by helping our clients build and manage well performing real estate portfolios in exceptional markets and meeting exacting standards of quality. http://www.gotonorthpoint.com/
NorthPoint Real Estate Investment Services
