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Throughout history real estate investment has always been safe. A home meant safety for your family and a place to entertain your friends. Real estate has always assured a positive return on investment.

In the late 1990’s Wall Street went from being a place where business suits were the symbol of the conservative nature of investing in companies futures to being better known for massive stock value swings where anyone with a laptop and an Internet connection became an investor. Hedge funds became the game of choice of those who had enough money to affect the outcome of the various investment schemes. The big dollar gamblers grew richer while millions of little people lost their retirement futures and companies folded. A quick review of the Dot-Com boom and subsequent crash as well as the latest housing fiasco are proof of gambling nature of Wall Street. In both situations, inexperienced “investors” drew money out of their CD’s, Blue Chip stocks and their home’s equity hoping to get rich quick. The Dot-Com stocks mostly turned out to be worth no more than the paper they were written on….yet no one went to jail.

Recently, “real estate investor” wannabes repeated their tactics and ran to buy everything in sight. Home sellers enjoyed wonderful appreciation gains and prices climbed through the roof! Panicked families in fear of loosing their opportunity to enjoy the American dream of owning a home battled with these investors to buy, furthering the frenzy. When the hedge fund managers signaled, the always willing media brought out stories of woe until the little people looked up and discovered that they were in the process of loosing their homes, cars, furniture, and savings. From Seattle Washington to Tampa Florida, homes are becoming foreclosures and short sales are on the increase with homeowners, banks and investors loosing money at a pace never seen before. All the while hedge fund managers become richer…. and yet no one goes to jail. A current list of the top 50 richest Americans reveals that hedge fund managers dominate the list and they are all worth BILLIONS!

If recent history is any indicator of our future, taking real estate advice from Wall Street will be worth the same as the dot-com stocks they sold you not so long ago. The sooner they get out of the real estate business the better. Always remember, a homes value often can’t be determined in dollars and cents when measured against its effect on your family’s quality of life.