by Starla Ross

Created on: January 13, 2009   Last Updated: January 27, 2009

If you've ever thought about investing in real estate, now may just be the time to do it. While the real estate crash has impacted many personal property owners, it has also created a wealth of opportunity for real estate investors who are looking to purchase properties well below past market values.

Property values are down as much as one-third in many areas of the country. What does this mean to you? It means with some work, and a little patience, you can potentially set yourself up to do very well in real estate over the next five years.

KNOW THE MARKET

As with any investment, you must have a good understanding of where it is you're putting your money. It's very important you have a good grasp of real estate market values in your area before you even begin searching for an investment in real estate. That doesn't mean you are well-educated about the prices of homes in your area back in 2004. It means you have great knowledge about the prices of real estate in your area now. Right now. Prices are changing every day. You need to know what real estate was selling for, not just last month, but yesterday. And you need to use good research to predict those prices in the near future.

How do you find information about the current price of homes? First, you can begin by looking at the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) for homes in the neighborhood you would like to invest. You can find this information with a local realtor or on web sites such as http://www.realtor.com or http://www.trulia.com . In addition, you'll want to check with your county office for a listing of homes that were recently sold in your area. Finding information about homes sold varies by location. Sometimes the listings will be in the newspaper, and sometimes they're located in the county tax auditor's office or web site.

Most county tax auditors now offer much of their information online. Simply do a search online, using your county name, state, and the words "tax auditor." Listings on your local tax auditor's site will not only tell you when a property sold, but the purchase price, as well as the name of the new buyer. (It also will tell you important information like market value of a property, tax value of a property, and annual real estate taxes).

Lastly, if you are currently working with a realtor, he or she can help with your research. Realtors can provide what in the industry is known as "comps" - comparable prices of homes sold in a certain area or neighborhood. If your realtor is local and well-versed

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