The Error of Waiting for "The Crash"

One of the many stumbling blocks for real estate investors is the idea that they can wait for the perfect time to buy. If you find yourself "waiting for the market to crash" you may want to consider the possibility that you're actually just afraid.

A few weeks ago I was out with some clients who are from on of the biggest markets in North America, Toronto. I asked them what their opinion was of the Toronto real estate market. I told them that I've been hearing that there is a real estate bubble and that the news pundits are calling for a major crash one of these days. The young investors replied "we've been hearing that for over 20 years, we just keep buying real estate..." I thought there was tremendous value in this statement.

Markets are cyclical, real estate is no different but I'm a believer that we should be buying cash flowing real estate when markets are up, when markets are down, and when markets are sideways. Just buy real estate, then wait.

The problem with waiting for the crash is that sometimes it just never comes. More often than a crash, we see a dip; a relatively small percentage decline in prices over a short period of time. What's troubling here is that inexperienced real estate investors somehow believe that they will be able to buy these dips when they've never bought real estate before, haven't been watching the market for years, have no skill, no confidence, and no connections necessary to finally make the jump into an investment property. They are waiting for the crash, but when the crash comes, they don't know what to do because they've wasted years waiting for the crash.

"Don't wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait" is one of the oldest, most well-known real estate quotes out there. It's often the most simple ideas like these that most people ignore because they believe that it "can't be that simple," but it really is.
Buy cash flowing real estate in good locations consistently in good times and bad times, and if you buy right and protect yourself, one day you'll be a multi-millionaire.