Over the last few days there’s been much speculation about the prospect of a double dipped recession in the US. Unemployment rates continue to rise, waves of foreclosures are yet to come and the sales for new homes are the lowest they’ve been in decades, and in some areas continue to fall. In addition the first home buyer’s grants, a stimulus mechanism to keep the housing market afloat has now ceased. So what does this all mean for US real estate market?

Well, there are many voices in this space, some expert and some not so. This can make it confusing when trying to establish if this is a good time to invest in US real estate or not. One thing that is important to note, is that when researching the area (no doubt online from Australia), the entire country can seem to be one homogenous market, eg the whole housing market in the US is suffering and values are continuing to plummet. It’s like saying all of Australia’s housing market is the same and is all unaffordable. This is not actually the case. The US property market is huge and in fact consists of thousands of markets under its umbrella. Some areas have actually experienced decent capital gains. My father has just sold his house in Palm Springs at a very attractive price, and much more than what he paid for it 7 years ago. It’s a niche market and one that is doing quite well. By any barometer of sound property investment, parts of the US real estate market are ripe for the picking with low entry levels and positive yields being the norm rather than the exception. To put it into perspective, many houses are now below construction costs!

It’s important not to get caught up in the doom and gloom and try and see where the opportunities lie. And currently the US real estate market is abundant with opportunities for investors.