Can REI In The Pricey SF Bay Area Still Be Profitable?
I'm totally new to REI and live in the San Francisco Bay Area where single family homes average 400K plus. I've saved some cash and have pretty good credit but am wondering whether it will be feasible to invest near my home or whether I should look at a cheaper market. Please help. :-?
Its always possible to make money in real estate in any market. But doing so requires an understanding of that market and where it is going. The stragegies are different in a "hot" market with low rates (as we have now) than in a "cold" market or high rates. In a big market like San Francisco metro some neighborhoods are always getting hotter (lease option and wait for appreciation) and some are always in decline (short sales and foreclosures). In addition the general market and the general economy don't matter much if you loose your job (the smallest of micro-economies, one person) or your husband dies without insurance or any of a host of other individual calamities or boons.
I sorta believe that there is a way to make money in every deal. If you are creative enough and the seller is motivated enough.
That said one of the tests of creativity is a hot market. The best money is made when you''re doing something no-one else is doing. In a hot market lots of people are out there looking.