Over the last several years real estate investing has become extremely popular, almost mainstream. Real estate investment groups have sprung up all over the country, complete courses have been developed to educate the masses, books on the subject arrival on the shelves daily, and reality TV even joined the bandwagon with a variety of shows. Suddenly every bartender, receptionist, cabdriver, and Tom, Dick and Harry is into real estate � �investing� �. Everybody is trying to create wealth through real estate.

And for a while it was working. As a whole, our country experienced several years of exceptional appreciation in real estate values, making many investors wealthy. Most were accomplishing this by � �flipping� � real estate. People from all walks of life were buying house on Sunday and quickly selling them for a profit on Monday, with very little downside. There was a time when almost everybody thought real estate investing meant buying and � �flipping� � properties.

But then things changed. Virtually overnight the real estate fairytale ended. The subprime market crashed. Interest rates on ARMs started to climb. Foreclosures hit record highs. Values started to plummeted. Really plummet.

In fact, as I write this, it is estimated that the current real state crash will be the second largest since the Depression. Some analysts are projecting drops in value of 10 to 20%, maybe more. Foreclosure rates may again double. (Currently, one of every 200 homes is said to be in foreclosure). Some lending institutions are closing their doors. Others are barely hanging on.

But even though this may be an extremely large crash, there are a few factors that separate it from previous down markets. For one, the economy is still pretty strong in most areas of the country. This means, as of yet, we are holding our own against a recession, or worse, a depression. Also, interest rates are still very affordable and should be in the near future. These are two important factors real estate investors look for as they invest in property.

What does this all mean? To sum it up, it means the real estate market is flooded. It means people and banks are willing to deal. It means anyone wishing to dispose of real estate are selling real estate gold at silver prices. It means its is time to buy! Only now the investor will not profit by flipping or selling their property, they will have to hold their property and wait for values to resurface. The new strategy for real estate wealth will be simple, buy at the fire sale, and sell after recovery. This wealth will come to those who can successfully accomplish two important during this time: