Real estate is considered a valuable commodity, there are investors who buy property for long term holdings and investors who flip properties to achieve high yielding profits in short periods of time. Whatever the investing reason, whether it is purchasing for vacation rentals or fix and flip, understanding the larger real estate market is critical to achieving goals.

Real estate is always in flux due to home prices, market trends, and interest rates ebbing and flowing in natural patterns.  Smart investors make it a priority to understand and interpret these market cycles in order to make smart decisions with their money.

Real estate markets vary greatly depending on their locations. Looking at nationwide statistics such as sales volume, median home prices, and market saturation can give a broad picture of where the market may be heading.  However, the truth is that real estate trends that matter most are the local markets.

Cities, Counties, and states each harbor unique marketplaces with unique buyers, sellers, and trends.  Understanding your local market is key to determining what type of investing or building will yield the greatest profits at any given time.  While the overall national economy, mortgage rates and other larger trends play a role, your purchases and sales will be most influenced by the factors at play in your specific market.

A local real estate market will be in a state of either a buyer’s market, a seller’s market, or a balanced market.  Your market’s current situation is what determines your approach in choosing investments, making offers, and negotiating deals.

In a buyer’s market, there are more properties for sale than there are buyers to purchase them.  This means that home buyers have the upper hand when selecting from the many different choices available, as well as stronger negotiating power to purchase.  For buyers, this is an ideal state in which to make purchases, especially for rental units.

A seller’s market is just the opposite, in that there are fewer listings than there are buyers, putting buyers in stiff competition with one another.  Bidding wars can happen during this market state, and for flipping homes, it is prime time to turn property over at competitive prices. Balanced markets are on even ground, neither the seller nor the buyer has the upper hand, and typically happen during  a transition from one extreme to another.

Understanding local markets is essential to smart real estate investing.  When you have found the right property and feel you can make a profit, contact HardMoneyMan.com LLC for access to funding that will give you access to property at the time you need it.  If you are ready to make money flipping homes and investing in real estate for profit, HardMoneyMan.com LLC has what you need to get the job done.