Great Investment Property Deals In Short Supply...

Great investment property deals in short supply, from Bankrate.com, reports that due to increased prices of homes over the last several years and rising interest rates, it is getting harder to find investment property that will allow the buyer to charge enough rent to cover the mortgage or even fix it up to sell it for a profit. In 2005, more than a quarter of all homes purchased were bought as investments, according to the National Association of Realtors. Last year there were 2.32 million investment-property sales, up nearly 16 percent from 2004 numbers. An NAR survey of investment property buyers found that 55 percent of those who bought a house as an investment did so for the rental income, and 35 percent said they bought to diversify their investments. "Investment home sales are likely to decline this year, in part because of higher interest rates," said David Lereah, NAR's chief economist. "There are fewer incentives to speculate in the market with price appreciation cooling in much of the country, and more oversight is being encouraged in the mortgage market."



http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/20060518a1.asp