Buying Real Estate: This Century’s Greatest Investment

by Dr. Mark Skousen, Advisory Panelist

Buying real estate? Are you nuts?

Investment U Chairman Alex Green thinks so, what with foreclosures skyrocketing and prices in some places falling more than half from their peak. He says the market is “dead” for now.

But dead doesn’t mean unprofitable.

And as Baron Rothschild often said, “Buy when blood is running in the streets.”

Despite all the bad news making the front pages, real estate-related stocks and funds have been making a comeback; some are up more than 25%, suggesting light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

Equity Residential Properties, one of my favorite REITs, is up 20%. Toll Brothers - builder of high-end homes - has been volatile, but appears to be bottoming.

My basic argument for a turnaround is that the federal government has essentially put a floor under the current real estate market,

The Mexican government is investing $1.5 billion in a stretch of Mexican coast. This is a real estate opportunity you could profit from.

Infrastructure improvements are one of the biggest drivers of overseas real estate values. I’m talking airports, roads, bridges, and cruise ship ports. Anything that improves the accessibility of a piece of real estate makes it more desirable.

The development of a viable tourism infrastructure also drives values. Golf courses, hotels, man-made beaches, boutiques, restaurants, and marinas all bring visitors. Visitors spend money, which creates jobs. And jobs in turn heat up real estate values. Of course, it helps if the infrastructure improvements happen in a place with a great climate and a short flight from major affluent population centers.

Just north of Puerto Vallarta, along a stunning stretch of coast know as The Riviera Nayarit, the Mexican government is investing $1.5 billion to improve accessibility and develop tourism

International Living’s Ronan McMahon says real estate investors have another opportunity to tap into the booming Costa Rican property market at a basement price. The far South of the country contains some of the best scenery, but it has always been almost impossible to reach. A new international airport and better roads will soon change that. And government limits on new development will send existing property prices will soar.

This from Today’s Financial News:

Wish you had a time machine? I just might be able to help you out with that!

Back in the early 1980s, International Living recommended buying real estate in northern Costa Rica. Readers who took this advice reaped big rewards.

This part of Costa Rica became the No. 1 destination among foreign retirees and investors who wanted to buy land that would increase dramatically in value. These buyers made very wise decisions, as the prices for beachfront property along the

Nexia Holdings recently announced a new strategy for its real estate operations. The company has plans to grow its real estate portfolio and create value for its shareholders by utilizing a strategy called “real estate backed securities.” The plan was designed to capitalize on large portfolios of residential real estate held by banks, individuals, corporations or other entities as a result of subprime or other foreclosed loans.

The company’s management team recognizes the devaluation of these properties as a result of tight credit markets and other factors, and that the investor with cash is able to purchase large groups of properties for pennies on the dollar. However, even if an investor has the cash, he/she must use great effort to get his/her cash back as soon as possible and redeploy the cash as many times as possible while the discounted prices are available.

Through Nexia, investors are able