What is the right time to invest in real estate?

Unless you were hiding inside caves or living in the so-called dream-world, you must have heard about the slowdown in real estate markets worldwide. And just as with any other hyped-up bull market, a lot of people who had bet that prices would rise forever are getting surprises. Nevertheless, buying real estate is an investment and buying during the dips - while prices are falling - can lead to gains over time. Find some hot listings.

But remember, investing in real estate is quite unlike buying stocks. The racks at book shops, TV Shows, Corporate Handouts, and Internet Web Portals or Blogs may be overflowing with books and ideas insisting that many are making their fortunes in real estate, but the truth is, compared with stocks, real estate is a complex, multi-dimensional investment. So, if you have to buy a new home to live-in and can afford it, just buy - whether the market is up or down. Property ownership is the best overall investment, and when you look at the complete picture, it is true - there are many tax and financial advantages to owning a home, and most properties do tend to appreciate over the longer term.

But the idea of real estate investment returns should consider major property buying drivers like cost, location, condition, rental value and choice. The bottom-line is, investment property is a piece of real estate that generates income - more income than it costs to own and maintain. Whether it is a beach condo or office space, the biggest consideration is income from it must exceed the cost. The cost includes everything: loan payments, taxes, upkeep, utilities, etc.

The buying decision is not fully dependent on whether the real estate market is up or down. If you want to make a stock market type investment in real estate, consider investing in real estate mutual funds or trusts. There are many realty funds now available to Indian Investors, and as they always advise, do read the offer documents before investing!