Greg Rand, a 20-year real estate veteran and author of _Crash Boom_ (Career Press), recently divulged five new trends in the struggling housing market.
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""The secret to making sure your real estate doesn't turn into a money pit is to watch the trends, so you can predict where the prices will rise and where they won't,"" said Rand, who is also the CEO of ""OwnAmerica"":http://www.ownamerica.com/ and a regular Fox TV news contributor.
Rand's first trend involves enduring ""short-term pain.""
""Show me a market where home prices are back to 2002 levels, and I will show you a market that is overcorrecting,"" he said.
Rand cites overdevelopment, his second trend, as one of the reasons the market is overcorrecting, such as in Florida.
[COLUMN_BREAK]Based on his third trend, jobs, Rand suggests tracking employment trajectories to see where companies move in order to identify a harbinger for long-term housing demand.
Lifestyle, Rand's fourth trend, drives migration patterns long term, he said.
""Look at climate (the Carolinas), leisure trends (Colorado), and cost of living (Texas) for triggers on where the market may shift,"" he said.
Rand's fifth trend, responsible government, means finding a locale that appreciates entrepreneurs.
""Look at the state government,"" he said. ""Does the state and city in question reward or punish risk-takers? Are you likely to suffer if you succeed there? There's nothing worse than putting your money on the table, only to have it redistributed.""
According to Rand, the formula for predicting the real estate market is simple.
""It comes down to the idea that no matter how the markets change, no matter which way the winds shift, people will always need a place to live. That's been true of America since the first log cabin,"" he said.
According to Rand, ""If you plug into that concept and leave fear in a box on the shelf, you can be ahead of the curve and ride the wave of the trends that matter.""