What's the Best Real Estate to Invest in when the Market is Saturated?

You've probably heard by now that there is never a bad time to invest in real estate. There are just too many opportunities that fall beneath the umbrella of real estate investing. The thing is, not ALL real estate investments are a sound decision ALL the time.

For instance, when the housing market is saturated with a surplice of available supply and a dwindling amount of demand – in light of the fact that banks aren't borrower friendly in the current circumstances – it's safe to say that "flipping" real estate isn't likely to be a good choice in MOST housing markets. There are a few exceptions but those are rather advanced real estate marketing tactics.

So, what is the best real estate to invest in when the housing market looks so bleak?

Now is the perfect time to consider investing in long-term (buy and hold) rental properties. Real estate is the best investment – even today – for those who plan properly.

With so many people losing their homes, demand for quality rental properties is on the rise. The good news for those who have the money to invest is that the market is saturated with nice homes in decent neighborhoods that are going for rock-bottom prices.

Some of these homes are foreclosures. Some may even need repairs of some sort in order to be "renter worthy" but for the most part you can find decent houses in rentable condition for extremely reasonable prices in cities everywhere.

If you're not interested in the day to day grind of rental investing, you can even hire a property management company to handle the property and its rental for you. They do all the work leaving you to enjoy worry-free real estate investing.

Then, when the market picks up, you have many options available to you. You could choose to hold on to the property for the rental income it generates. You could sell it for a higher price than you purchased the home for. Or, you might want to consider offering a lease-option arrangement to your tenant if he or she is interested in home ownership. The higher property value will make that a much more agreeable proposition for some real estate investors.

When buying real estate for investment it's always a good idea to explore what's possible now with your investment as well as what might be possible in the future. Those who invest in real estate invest real dollars with the expectation of returns on that investment. When you pick the best real estate to invest in, for the time in which you're investing, those odds increase drastically.