Like the green light on a traffic signal understanding the right set of circumstances in the real estate market is like a flashing neon sign saying buy or sell hold now. Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of real estate investing is that unlike stocks, bonds, currency trading the real estate market is relatively slow moving and generally easy to time. Despite its slow moving quality, however, many real estate professionals are unaware of how to properly gauge the market. There is a popular saying in real estate that it is time to sell when real estate agents begin buying investment property.In general though there are a few basic indicators of when it’s time to buy, sell, or hold your investment property. A good indicator of when you should think about buying property would be an increase in job growth or something that might lead to an increase in job growth like the opening of a new factory. Also bear in mind that the same situation might affect different property types in different ways. For instance an increase in property buyers in a market with few homes available will mean increasing prices for undeveloped land.On the other hand overbuilding or the presence of too many new homes in an area might drive values down. Even economic factors, such as an increase in foreclosures, might be a warning not to buy property or at least to be more cautious. There are always exceptions, but you should always have a valid reason for going against the grain of the current real estate market.Other indicators to watch out for include a rise or fall in interest rates which affect the price of money and therefore indirectly affect how much property a potential buyer could afford. The presence of a high number of vacancies or many landlord concessions, freebies like a new toaster or a television set with the rants or purchase of the property could also indicate a declining market. Even a quick glance at the local newspaper can give you a good idea of where the market stands, look at the classifieds section for the number of foreclosures and the number of jobs available, check the business section, and many times even the front page will have news relevant to the property investor. Generally speaking the real estate market is always in one of the following phases, when you understand what phase it’s in now and which one it was in before you can predict which phase it will be in much more accurately.Expansion
As the name suggest this phase is defined by increases, increased population, increased jobs, increased wages, and of course increased property values and rental rates. Easily the most exciting phase and arguably the most fun the danger of this phase is that this is one many novice real estate investors dive into the market. While it may seem like the market can go nowhere but up, by avoiding the temptation to over borrow you will be in a position to take advantage of some great deals in the Recession and Bottom phases.Peak
If your exit strategy is to sell, this is the perfect time for it. This phase is commonly referred to as a seller’s market. It’s marked by an almost frenzied bidding war for available properties and a glut of new building projects on every corner. One of the best advantages of sailing during this phase is that it is marked by extremely short listing times.Contraction
The contraction phase is the market’s reaction to him abundance of overpriced and often overbuilt number of properties often exceeding the number of actual buyers. While this phase is often marked by an increase in inflation, the inflation itself is actually a response to the contracting market although it may also be a contributing factor. Many property owners during this phase typically express a feeling of denial causing prices to stay at their over inflated level often sending buyers elsewhere further increasing the supply of homes available for sale and decreasing the number of interested buyers.Recession
By this point many properties have been on the market for a very long time. While property values plummet, rent rates also tend to decline as landlords are forced to compete with each other for tenants in order to keep their properties afloat. This is usually the phase where the greatest numbers of foreclosures become available.Bottom
Due to the large number of foreclosures and owners at risk of foreclosure who are often willing to offer assistance, more generous terms, or outright owner financing, then they would be in an expanding market, this is easily the best way is to buy property. This is also the phase that scares away most new investors due to the dire headlines and rising interest and inflation rates.Recovery
This phase is essentially a return to normalcy, while interest and inflation may still be somewhat higher than during the expansion phase they may have begun to fall at least a little. Usually at this phase all of the excess properties from the Expansion and Peak phases have been purchased or absorbed back into the market and there may be an influx of new buyers.While it is important to be able to recognize the current trends and predict what will most likely be the next phase of the real estate market identifying the phases themselves does not serve as a hard and fast rule for whether to buy or sell. For one thing there may be and usually is a difference between the national and local market for every national market in the Bottom phase there is always an area that is in the Peak or even Expansion phase. Ultimately the best indicator of whether to buy or sell a property is what your analysis of that property reveals, and how it fits into your overall real estate portfolio.

Introduction to the Real Estate Sector:One of the booming sunrise sectors in the world is undoubtedly Real Estate. Today, it has been recognized as one of the most lucrative investment alternatives. A good number of individuals irrespective of the demographic facets are seen considering real estate as a serious investment mainly because this is one such sector the value of which is sure to shoot up in the long run.Moreover, this sector has ended up creating a win win situation for all the stakeholders who happen to hold direct or indirect interest in the same. This is one of the vital reasons that has contributed to the growth of real estate business in general, which is exactly why we see a number of real estate companies and agencies laying base in every nook and corner of the street.There may be plenty of people out there who are keenly looking forward to establish their very own successful real estate companies. However, they are often confused as to where they should start from. In order to bring an end to the dilemma faced by all such people out there, we will be helping you with a brief blueprint that we believe may end up playing a crucial role in your real estate journey.The Starting Point – Raise Your Start Up Capital:One primary requirement for kick-starting a business is to begin by raising the much needed start up capital, the core role of which is to meet the various fixed and variable costs. This concept holds equally true in case of a real estate business. In order to give birth to your dream, you need to begin by locating and eventually investing in the office space, buying the necessary office equipment, designing logos and preparing other marketing material and of-course diverting funds towards insurance. Similarly, you will also require funds to meet the routine operating expenses in the days to come. Once the funds are in place, the first step can be easily met.Meet Regulatory Requirements:It is essential for you to note that you cannot really begin transacting in the real estate arena on any day at random. In most of the countries, you need to hold a valid license in order to be able to operate as a consultant. It is advisable for you to get on board a reliable legal counsel in order to better acquaint yourself with the rules and regulations that are prevalent in the real estate platform of your country. Once you have the necessary license in hand, you can begin your operations as a real estate consultant.Get into Your Hiring Boots:Next up you will be required to initiate the recruitment and selection processes in order to hire agents to your team. At this point, it is essential for you to draft an independent contractor agreement so as to maintain clarity and transparent communication between you as the employer and your individual agents. The agreement should necessarily house details regarding the ratio in which the commission would be distributed, code of ethics that need to be imbibed by the agents and of-course the general office related policies and procedures.Fix in Your Mind – Customer is the Whole & Sole:Once you are through with the above three steps, you need to proceed further in order to build a loyal customer base. In order to survive and succeed as a real estate entrepreneur, a stable clientele becomes a must. You can reap results in this area by investing towards direct and indirect advertising, integrated marketing communication models and of-course a tad bit of public relations. Similarly, you can also lay weightage on joining hands with a Search Engine Optimization company, which is believed to play a critical role in improving your visibility and presence in the market.The Ultimate Add-on – A professional looking website:The above elements are basically the preliminary droplets that would end up contributing to your wide ocean of real estate business. Apart from the above aspects, there is yet another component, which if added to your business initiation program is sure to benefit you in a massive way. The building block about which we are talking here is the need to develop and introduce a relevant, innovative and of-course distinct looking professional website for your business unit.If we were to rely on the statistics, then we can easily come to the conclusion that in the recent times it has been found that over eighty percent of the individuals begin their home search online. This is exactly why a professional website is likely to come handy to your real estate unit. Similarly, a website can also help you survive the cut-throat competition by making your details available to the prospective clients at large.However, one area that most of the companies end up giving a miss is with regards to the listings. Most of the real estate agents rely heavily on the Multiple Listing Service and fail to recognize the importance of listing out all the properties that come under their basket, on their respective websites. It is quite obvious that only when you offer a holistic listing on your website will you be able to hear your cash registers ringing, which is actually the end result of a wide number of sales.