Spring Real Estate Investing 2011

The Obama administration has spent billions of dollars trying to prevent foreclosures, but with marginal success. Still, until the problem is under control, housing will struggle to recover.

The glimmer of hope that housing would stage a sustainable comeback this spring has melted with the winter snow, dashing the hopes of sellers again.

Bargains are thinning out, but that hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of real estate investors who target small apartment buildings, especially in the Sunbelt.

Maybe you played too much Monopoly as a child or it’s all the foreclosed properties selling at a deep discount. If you’re thinking about investing in single-family real estate, here's what you need to know.

Returns for equity real estate investment trusts skyrocketed nearly 28 percent each of the last two years. The question for investors is: Can that possibly happen again? Probably not, but a strengthening economy and fund flows could make for a decent year.

When it comes to real estate, Asia has a very different set of problems from the West.  China, Singapore and Hong Kong have all introduced a slew of measures to combat housing markets that threaten to get out of control.

The group is crawling back to life, say analysts, and is very likely poised for a three- to five-year run for bold and patient investors.

Homeownership has long been associated with investment savvy, but the worst real estate recession in decades, as well as potential changes to the mortgage market, may be cause to rework the equation.

The mortgage market is currently mired in policy and politics that could directly affect buyer decisions on Main Street, at a time when the housing market remains in a slump.

Amid all the doom and gloom, it is hard for many think of real estate as anything other than a money pit; for some, however, it is an opportunity, and, hopefully, a well of profit to be tapped. It's the optimistic, even opportunistic, side we're focusing on in our annual special report, "Investor Guide to Spring Real Estate".

There's been less trading up  in this real estate recession than in the past. Owning at house in a town at the mid point of any market is no recipe for success these days.

The glimmer of hope that housing would stage a sustainable comeback this spring has melted with the winter snow, dashing the hopes of sellers agin.