Investing in Emerging Markets

First of all some of you might be asking what exactly is an emerging market. The three major phases a real estate market goes through are growth,decline and absorbtion. An emerging market is one that is coming out of absorbtion and is entering the growth phase. The trick is to pick a strong market with good fundementals that is in this stage. There are many things to look at in an emerging market such as job growth, people moving into the area, transportation etc. I like looking in the sunbelt where a combination of climate and economic statistics point to the market being one to buy in. A military base nearby is also a plus as it draws retiries to the area due to the services the base offers. The amount of available houses for sale and the number of days on the market is something I take a close look at. I also look at the sale price versus asking price to determine if prices are going up. the website OFHEO.gov helps in researching appreciating markets. The emerging markets offer one of the best opportunities to profit in real estate that I know of. If you get in at the right time you can profit handsomely. There are even some companies out there that pay big bucks for research and will provide services to point you in the right direction of these new emerging markets. This service is not free of course but can be well worth the expense if you double your money in 12-18 months. Whichever way you go, doing your own research or paying for someone else to do it, if you get into a hot emerging market with a long run up in appreciation you can make huge bucks.