Timing the Market - buy now or wait for a correction

[Frank C.]

As a new real estate investor who has not experienced the cyclical nature of the market, I wanted to see what experienced people say about trying to time the market.  It seems like locally and in many markets across the country the real estate market is heating up (overheating?) and may be due for a correction.  The Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan.  N Korea is a problem.  Radical Islam is an ongoing threat.  Syria is a mess.  A government shutdown is being discussed.  Interest rates at some point have to go back up.  Black Swans seem to be circling the pond.  I have followed the Motley Fool approach to stock investing and they always point out the dubious success of stock market timing. 

Should I proceed with my first SFH if I can find the right deal? Or should I keep my powder dry and save up cash to pick up multiple deals in a year or two once the market softens or corrects? I do not need the cash flow now. I want to build passive income so that I can retire at a time of my own choosing, tentatively 13 years hence. Thanks.

[Alexander Felice]

timing the market is crazy talk. what if you time it wrong?

what if you wait, and the market climbs, you gonna buy when prices go up 10%? What if the market climbs 20% and then the correction is only 10% downward swing? you waited 2 years and still paid more than you would have now.

What's your strategy? if you're holding then it's largely irrelevant what the market does in the short term.

someone on BP wrote today: "you don't wait to buy real estate, you buy real estate and wait."

you can't make money on the sidelines, get in the game. The market will always be changing in the future, adapt as the changes come.