What’s real estate looking like in 2023?

Did COVID-19 spoil the market or make it better? Is real estate an excellent investment this season?I have always been a saver but I love buying when it’s a great value.

I might bore you with this, but read what Charlie Munger says. But more about that later. So how to invest in real estate? Is it even a good idea?

Well, it depends on your portfolio.  I am not an investment specialist. I don’t give professional Financial advice on this blog or elsewhere. What I do is share what helps me.Investment is dependent on personal risk appetite and best with professional advice.

If you have planned your monthly savings, well remember diversified, safe but good returns don’t always go together.So choose the type of investment that makes sense for your current financial life and future goals.

I started my Public Provident fund when I entered Medical College. During my PG I invested in a double benefit life insurance. After marriage, we both invested in a good health plan, a life insurance term one and then a mutual fund each.This was the basic starting point before we planned to buy our first house. We even checked out possible monthly EMI before going house searching. That way, we wasted less time.

I also didn’t focus on iffy deals from iffy banks, but pre approved projects under good builders.But that’s a topic for another time

Today I talk about how COVID-19 has affected my decision of buying real estate. Work from home changed what people werre looking for in real estate.My husband abd I being doctors didn’t really have work from home as a decisive point. But all the mask wearing which though protective made us more conscious of the need for open spaces and clean air .

Before COVID 19, hit having a well ventilated, airy home was important for me just like everyone else.I have an extensive balcony garden and indoor plants to keep the room air as fresh as possible. But after COVID-19 I wanted a home with outdoor spaces.Does it make sense?Yes it does and this article in Forbes talks about how the graph for real estate is not as bad as you think.

Being cooped up in a cage is bad for your health.My husband’s family home was in a dilapidated condition.There was a renter who barely looked after it.I wanted a chance to visit it on weekends and holidays so that my daughter could play surrounded by nature didn’t happen for 7 years. Until COVID 19 hit and my hubby cooped up indoors month long. That first month decided to reclaim his heritage.That started him on the way to researching real estate in the small town we live in part time and Kolkata .

When we planned on buying a home in the outskirts of the town we checked out whether the home loan EMI and the cost of the land for our budget or not.

Whether to buy some land or buy an apartment ?What would be a good idea?What with the economy being what it is right now,what makes more sense?In the part of the world where I live COVID 19 has given a push for reclaiming lost land,homes and gardens.

It’s not just land, it’s a chance to breathe in fresh air because one never knows.While overpriced city properties face few takers ,bigger properties with green spaces look inviting.

If you have the resources ,buying when the market it down gives you more choices.

After much thought, we renovated our ancestral home in the village as the renter was shifting .We also bought a piece of land which we are reforesting partly and using the rest as a vegetable garden. The land we financed through a bank loan and the home renovation took place slowly, with monthly payments to a local contractor. It fit our budget and solved a problem.

We now have a family home and garden to visit every weekend and since the land we bought was around 20 minutes from where we lived in the town centre but in a rural area, the pricing was just right. Diversification of our portfolio was much better with real estate involved.

3 tips for choosing a real estate property

Have a budget .

Know why you are gaining a property.

Never buy overpriced property. Its more difficult to recover the investment .

Buying real estate is a part of a long-term investment plan to prevent capital gains taxation .

If you are buying land for the first time,buy it at a place where you can visit and where you have plans for the long term.