I am a newbie in real estate but I am wondering if 2019 is a good year to invest in real estate? Or do you believe the housing market is getting a bit overpriced? Should I wait until the next housing market to cool off and for prices to lower? What are your opinions on this?

Every year is a good year for real estate. A declining market gives you better deals. A rising market gives you appreciation. As the saying goes, "He who hesitates is lost".

I have friends that invested with me back in the '80's with rates @ 18-19%. EVERYONE told us we we were crazy & would lose our money.......most of those friends who stuck it out are millionaires & a few are multi-millionaires. Personally cannot remember a year that I have not invested.

I would say yes, 2019 is a good time to invest. But I would also say 2019 is a bad time to invest. Then I would ask, are you a good investor? I would also ask what type of real estate do you want to invest in? Some types of real estate are overpriced in a lot of areas right now such as multifamily. However, I recently spoke with a multimillionaire property manager/investor who is doing a deal in California that negatively cash flows 30k a year but the way the purchase contract he has on the property that will be executed upon the dealth of the elderly owners will create around 600-800k in net worth for him and he is paying down the owner carry mortgage by 20k a year (so true net loss is only 10k a year). This may not seem like a good deal for those looking for immediate cash flow, however, it is a really smart play by a seasoned investor that will create hundreds of thousands of dollars in net worth.. That is why I ask if you are a good investor. Because good investors can figure out how to make good deals regardless of the year.

JP Morgan was once asked for a market prediction. His response, "The market will fluctuate." Every year is a good and bad year to invest. It all depends on your individual deal. It is much easier to make money in a rising market. Waiting for the market to cool or crash, could leave you on the sidelines or holding a non-performing asset for years. There is never going to be a perfect time or perfect deal. You will never know the exact turning point and begin buying. How would you feel if you bought a property and immediately it dropped in value by 25%? Could you support the property if it took 6 months to rent? There are no easy answers, Be patient and wait for the right deal.

Seems to be a common trend about market timing and crash scenario. New investor or one that is lacking proper RE knowledge - Always worry about a declining market, top, crash, bad time, overpriced etc. Season investor or someone with the correct RE knowledge - Understands that they can't predict the future and has no idea what the market will do. Will run their system and look for properties that will fit their edge. Understands risk and are properly managed. Know that RE is a long term game and is preparing for 20 innings.

@Jimmy Lieu, there is a lot of capital looking for yield and as a result cap rates have compressed in many markets. Here are some strategies that you may wish to employ in light of where we are in the market cycle: 1.Focus on the right asset – multifamily real estate is popular during times of uncertainty because people have a preference for renting during times of uncertainty and because it is valued intrinsically, it is less prone to large swings in sentiment which can impact the value of single family homes. 2.Invest in real estate - it represents diversity in your overall portfolio so if you are taking cash out of equities to invest in real estate then you are potentially building yourself a portfolio that is positioned for excess returns with lower volatility. For a real life example take a look at the Yale Endowment portfolio. 3.Pick the right market – not all housing markets were impacted in the same way during the last recession. If you select a market with population growth, jobs and wage growth, a balance between supply and demand and a diverse range of employers you will do just fine. If you invest in a stagnant market with just one big employer then you will be exposed 4.Buy for cashflow, not appreciation – this is a cardinal rule of real estate investing. If you have a cash flowing asset you can hold onto it indefinitely, if you have negative cashflow and are hoping for appreciation you will end up being a forced seller in a down market. We can create equity in multifamily real estate by investing in our assets to grow rent, improve vacancies and by cutting expenses 5.Avoid high end real estate – high end real estate always gets hit first in any downturn as people migrate from more expensive to less expensive homes. By focusing on class B/C properties we expect to see an increase in demand and in rental rates during any downturn 6.Lock in long term financing – lack of available credit was the downfall of many homeowners and investors during the last recession. By locking in our funding we can eliminate one source of potential distress and we can also 'fix' one of our major expenses by locking in the financing rate 7.Increase your cash position – there will be opportunities to buy distressed assets from people who were not prepared, but you will need cash 8.Reduce Leverage – leverage can be used to provide higher cash on cash returns however along with leverage comes greater sensitivity to any loss of income. If we reduce leverage we may get lower cash returns however we do increase our ability to 'stay in the game' and not be forced sellers should rental rates decrease or vacancies rise. Being a distressed seller during a downturn is not where you want to be 9.Be more conservative underwriting – multifamily properties are priced based off their current financial performance only. When we are underwriting deals we can plan for a downturn in our assumptions e.g. increase expected vacancy and decrease rents to avoid overpaying 10.Dispose of weakest assets – this is simple portfolio management, it's key to let go of underperforming assets to free up cash and credit required to buy better performing assets. Don't wait until the recession arrives to sell underperforming assets 11.Increase cash reserves – whilst this can decrease returns it is all about being able to weather the storm, cash is king! 12.Have a range of exit strategies – If it isn't a good time to sell then you do have other options with multifamily real estate, provided that it is cash flowing. You could, for example refinance to get your cash out.

@Jimmy Lieu 2019 is the best year to invest in real estate. Prior to 2019 it was 2018. Prior to 2018 it was 2017. Prior to 2017 it was 2016. Prior to 2016 it was 2015. Prior to 2015 it was... Every year is good if you're buying the properties with the right strategy in place. You still need to have the right fundamentals in place for it to make sense but yes it's a good year to buy real estate.

Agree with Shiloh. Are you a good investor? Always a good time to buy right what you know well. It's never a good time to be in the back of the line of owner-occ buyers over-bidding and removing your protective contingencies like inspections or low appraisals. It's never a good time to pay retail. It's always a good time to buy a good asset on good terms, solving a seller's problem. An equity capture discount and/or cash flow is good to acquire any year. What are you investing in and where?