Most would agree that the real estate market will not return anytime soon, and everyone in the industry stated that they believe that it still has some more to go down. In fact, many real estate sales people are suggesting that they buyers offer 25% less than the already devastated valuations when deciding what price to offer.
This does a couple of things, one, it lowers the price and appraisals of other properties that are similar nearby and two, it prevents the prices from rebounding anytime soon. All this coupled to the reality that there is a heck of a lot of inventory in many real estate markets to soak up, meaning it will be a good 3-5 years for any relevant return to normalcy. Needless to say, real estate may not be the best place to invest right now.
What about stocks? Well, the stock market has sure seen some tough times and has basically collapsed to 45% of what it was worth just 1-year ago. Surely it will return however, many folks have had enough of the stock market and even though they know it will return, they just do not need that kind of risk or stress in their lives; they’d rather stay in cash and put it under their mattress. Of course, that does not make sense either.
What about buying a franchise outlet of a strong brand name, is that a worthy investment right now? One could argue either way. But, there are some franchises that do very well in tough times or recessionary periods. And almost all franchises do well as the business cycle comes off the bottom and moves up. So, is this the right time to invest in a franchised business?
Well, it certainly could be. Especially if the investor is in an industry that is hurting, or is worried about losing their job and it might also be a smart place to invest if the investor has a bit of knowledge in the sector that the franchisor is offering. In any case it is worthy of investigation; to see if this is a smart place to park your money and perhaps make some money while the World that just turned upside-down is right-sided. Please think on this.