The past decade has been a prime market for buy and hold investors. Those who were astute enough and had the wherewithal to invest over the past 10 years have enjoyed a great deal of cash flow and some great appreciation. Investors lately, were comforted in knowing their investments have gained a substantial increase in value as the market conditions improved.
Within the past 10 years you probably saw your property value double. And many have started asking, what is your next step?
When do You Sell?
The purposeful “buy and hold” investor knows that the properly executed exit strategy is paramount to capitalizing on the investment. As a purposeful investor, you will want to hold your investment as long as it makes sense to hold. As long as property values climb and the local market is strong it makes sense to hold.
You will want to watch market conditions so you can sell at a time when it is best positioned to give the highest returns. You bought during a buyer’s market and you will best be suited to reposition during the peak of the seller’s market. This market swing can happen without notice, so keeping track of the local markets when your property is performing well for an extended period of time is important and often overlooked.
Watching for Signs That You May Want to Reposition Your Assets to a New Market
- Time on Market: When the average time on the market for listed real estate for sale hits 30 days or less, suggests a peak sellers’ market
- Building Activity has Reached a Peak: An often overlooked piece of diligence is what the building permit activity is doing, builders spend a lot of money to research market swings…keep an eye on what builders are doing, as they reduce their exposure you can bet their diligence suggests a market swing
- Jobs Slowing: Jobs may still be plentiful but showing signs of a slowdown
- Population Growth: Rate of population growth is slowing down
There are a number of things you can watch for to determine when it is the optimal time to sell. Many of these things require deeper diligence and an eagle eye on the economy. Looking deep to forecast where the market is heading is the edge that the seasoned investor holds. The expression “everything they touch turns to gold” is derived from these people understanding the telltale signs and acting accordingly.
Considering exit strategy, everyone knows you should “buy low and sell high” yet most people do the opposite. Most people follow what the masses are doing. Of course, the masses tend to get caught up in the hype.
During the peak of a seller’s market everyone tends to get caught up in bidding wars and therefore, prices rise beyond values. The non-seasoned investors are fearful that they may lose out by waiting. They have watched many investors buy and make it big and by the time they start buying it may already be the time to be selling.
Often, they will find themselves in a bidding war as they hurry to get in on the action. If you are in a bidding war to purchase, you are obviously not in a market you should be buying and usually it is the new investors bidding during this time. Never get caught up in a bidding war.
The seasoned investor knows that what follows a seller’s market is a decline swinging downward toward a buyer’s market. This is the time to sell your current investment property and reposition to the next emerging market.
The 1031 Exchange
The 1031 tax deferred exchange has been a valuable tool for investors used for many years. As of lately, this has been put to great use again as investors are repositioning their assets.
A “buy and hold” strategy is the best way to amass a fortune in real estate. This does not mean you need to hold one property for many years. You want to hold a property for a number of years until market conditions suggest to sell and reposition to the next emerging market.
Happy investing!
Larry Arth is a landlord and the founder and CEO of Equity Builders Group, a Florida based Real Estate investment Group. As a 36 year veteran to real estate investing, Larry understands that we are now in a global economy and as times have changed, investment strategies must change as well. Larry is an international recognized consultant and speaker and assists hundreds of investors per year, both foreign and domestic to realize their investment potential. He analyzes locations across the country for economic strength and the locations that yield the largest most sustainable return on investment. Within these locations he seeks out and gathers the best teams to deliver sound, high performing and most importantly sustainable turnkey investment. He works with investors to ride the wave of each area-specific market surge. Larry’s primary focus is offering (Non Listed) safe and sustainable turnkey investments to the passive investor. For more information, visit www.equitybuildersgroup.com.