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So what does this book tell us about our storied real estate market?
"I recently spoke to Joe Gyourko (an economist at Wharton School of Business), probably the premier real estate economist in the country for a couple of hours about this," Florida said. "It's not that superstar cities don't go up and down, it's that they are more resilient than other regions."
So if some of us are holding our breaths for reality to return to the land of surreality, Florida recommends a taking a deep breath. "I believe this clustering of people that make cities grow is a permanent demographic shift. That means that in the long term, there's going to be more stratification between these innovative economic centers and everywhere else. Unfortunately, that will be reflected in the real estate prices."
Even within the mega-regions, he says, not all real estate is created equal: "If I had to give advice I would say to buy single-family homes closer to the core, not in the outlying areas where the more affordable housing is. The really knowledge-driven people have to be more effective, so they have to use their time more efficiently, so center locations have become more valuable. Even in places like Washington, D.C., where the suburbs have been hit so hard (by the real estate downturn), the inner-city core has held up."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/09/BUNOVFD7J.DT...
That is an interesting point of view. Mine is a little different. I'm not saying I am right, but here is why I think that buying in the outlying areas is going to increase. Home based businesses are increasing at a dramatic pace. Now 1 out 4 households have a home based business. No longer is it necessary to live close to where the jobs are. People are creating their own jobs. I do feel that investing in apartment buildings at the core areas is a good play. If you study the Bureau of Labor and Statistics you will find that the big increase in jobs are service industry related. The problem with that is that they are low paying jobs most of the time. People in those industries will need affordable housing which "B" rated apartments will provide. Just my opinion.
You've got to find your obstacles and call them out! Unsheath the sword, and do battle with whatever it is that holds you back!
One other point- at least for the SoCal area. It is the outlying areas that have really gotten crushed. If you are looking for deals, they are in the San Bernadino/Riverside counties not so much Orange or LA.
And people will need to come back to SB/Riverside because Orange/LA is still so expensive.
The problem of course is that even with the discount, they still don't cash flow.