RE is not a market with great liquidity or with substitution (1 house is not exactly the same as another compared to 100 shares in a company being the same as 100 shares of the same company).You do need to know your market and you do need to adjust to local conditions as they change.RE prices do not fall all that rapidly.

Other comparable rentals.

That's the difference between living in the overbuilt hinterland of Eagle's Point, as compared to world class theatre and gorgeous parks in Ashland.

Have a realtor provide recent comparables (both on market and recently sold) based upon FMV/ARV.

. $5B a month in buying capacity is at the higher end compared to most of the bottom feeders. 10% of Countrywide was sold for $2B and they actually make money on their loan book.Under 5% of the mortgages are in default.

That said see what he will really take and compare that to what Fair Market Value would be.

What you need to do is educate yourself.To answer your question, yes where you are, your market and the deal itself all matter for the type of investing you want to do.In a college town, you are going to be renting to students and not alot of flipping as the number of buyers is low compared to renters, so you can see, it really does matter.The type of loan they have as well as available equity in a property might tell you if it is a sub2 deal.

In a nutshell, residential sales volume is down, but prices rising, although at a slowed pace in most areas.Rental rates have dropped slightly, and there is much more availability compared to a year ago.Here's the most recent Honolulu Board of Realtor's stats:http://www.hicentral.com/hbr-stat.asp

Having used the website for a number of hours I will try to compare the various views.1.

Because of that, they typically require at least 20% down, and it can be higher.If you are looking at a pre-construction property (which there are many of these days), then the deposit is usually due in stages with the final payment coming when the project is completed.There are advantages to getting in on the preconstruction phase, and that is usually when you will get a best price compared to completion, however, you really need to make sure you do your research on the developer and property to make sure they have the resources and track history to complete and manage the project.A contact with Starwood Development recently told me know that they have a number of projects under way right now in North America including Seattle, Scottsdale and Wailea to name a few.