I am not sure where to post this but you know even though we are no longer in a housing boom there is really a lot of $$$s that can be and in some cases need to be made. I have a friend who I have been discussing real estate and other investments with for years. He has actually done pretty well with some apartment building he purchased because he got locked in at a really low price prior to the boom and got lucky because the boom create a lot of equity in his buildings. But he does not understand how one trend can affect the market and bring on new trends so he is never one to really act on an idea until it becomes proven.
I have visited Orlando, FL several times this year and noticed a couple of things. During the boom the market was in favor of vacation homes because they yielded higher gains when sold as opposed to housing that was needed for the average person living there. Some people who seen this house climbing in price decided to take a risk, start a second mortgage and buy one of these vacation homes in hopes to make some $$$. Now there is this saturated market down there of vacation homes that hardly anyone wants.
During this time the average worker down there was left out of the loop. And many have even had to move into trailers. I told my friend that who ever cam in here and started building smaller newer homes between $120,000 - $200,000 would be doing these people a favor and while these homes may not make as much profit for each it is still a huge business.
This last time I visited I found a company doing something similar to this, they started building cheaper townhomes targeting the $150k, $165k, and $180k range that even had options for garages but with less floor space. I also recently seen an article I believe on msn.com where the discussion was about the Miami market being the trend towards lower priced homes. Each home only makes about 15% profit but the amount of house needed are great.
Personally I do not want to be a trend follower I want to be a trend setter. One day I hope to have millions to jump on an opportunity like this for developing what is needed. I would also love developing a company known for quality because poor quality was one of the biggest complaints I heard while I was down in Florida.
I wish I had a company to ask for your support and investment in me for a really large project like this but I do not. So I suggest to you to look into this. If you see a new company targeting the lower price homes jump on the opprotunity and invest in them, read articles, go down and visit like I did and take a ride around. You can not get a full picture unless you do this. Many of the home owners took their houses off the market through the realtor in order to be able to lower the price of the house by what they would have had to pay commission on. Some people litterally used black magic markers to make their For Sale by Owner signs.
The more expensive vacation homes are beginning to bottom out now. A house that was targetted at $450k a year or so ago can not be purchased for $300k - $350k. This is a good opportunity for higher salary northerners to begin buying winter and retirement homes down there again at a much lower price. I have even thought about trying to be a match maker for these houses to collect referals if the house close. The referal of course would be a set price and much lower than what the agents were originally charging.
All of you investing in real estate, check this out and then tell me what you think.
Thanks
