I am interested in hearing what the board believes are the trends to watch in real estate in 2021.

1) Many have said that they are selling.....but they are not saying what they are selling. Multis, Singles, Commercial?

I think MFH might be a buying opportunity due to government over reach.

2) I would expect interest rates to stay low through much of this year, but I would expect the rubber band to snap back. I see wrap around financing be a strong value add top investing.

3) I expect the government over reach to continue and gradually shift back towards where it was, but I believe the cat is out of the bag. Expect the government to help everyone that much more as progressiveness grows.

4) I expect the sales volumes to decrease as measured in dollars in real estate. Just not enough listings out there.

5) Expect construction cost to stay high - it will be hard to buy an existing home so people will consider building. Contractors will bid the jobs planning on higher cost.

6) Finding quality workers will be challenge as we continue to pay people not to work. Training those who will work is be a challenge.

7) Tenants will be buckling down and less turn over will occur.

8) More residents will want to become owners.

With the Pandemic and my loss of control over many of my Class "C" apartment buildings, I will not be investing in marginal areas in the near future. In Los Angeles, landlords have to give their tenants notices that they need not pay rent unit March 2022-A year from now. And eviction are taking around 5 months, not for non-payment of rent but for cause.

I was listening to some radio shows yesterday and here are some things I heard about real estate.

* There are more realtors in the US than there are houses for sale right now

* Around the central Ohio area there are often fewer than 5 houses per zip code under $400,000.00

I also had a friend tell me that he had to pay $9.00 for a 2X4. I forgot to ask if it was pressure treated or not.

yes, building materials, in particular lumber, is skyrocketing. Interest rates and inflation are on the rise so loans will be harder to get (for law abiding people)

I am selling all rentals. Might flip some, but time will tell. There are other places to invest and other things to invest in.

Maybe, if this insanity ends, I will get back into rentals.

With this New government here to protect everyone from themselves, I see a few things coming:

No penalty for not repaying your student loans. More people will have much of their student debt wiped out because that is popular with these new Socialist Democrats.

Bailouts for tenants who were deadbeats and screwed over LLs by way of not being able to use the tenant behavior, their credit, or lack of paying old LLs against them.

Bailouts for newer property owners who paid way too much for their homes in this market and when they can't afford to continue to make their payments for whatever reason, the taxpayers will be picking up their tab.

Trends, you ask? Hold on while I dust off my crystal ball.... might need some duct tape....that baby has a huge crack running along the bottom of it.

I have no idea. No one does. If we did, we'd all be investing scandalous amounts of money on the outcome. Michael Burey, famous for "predicting" the housing crash of 2008-2009, almost lost his shirt when Scion capital placed their bets too early, and but for the grace of God and some incredibly timing they were about to go bankrupt. One more month and he'd have been swept into the dustbin of history for being 100% correct with bad timing.

So what ought we be doing?

Same as always. Find opportunities where they exist. Keep an ear open and an eye on Govt regulation and take measures to reduce the damage when they sink their claws into you. Sell when it makes sense according to your goals, not out of fear. Buy when it makes sense according to your goals, not out of fear. Boost rents. Screen diligently.

There is always opportunity for the diligent. It's in the Bible...."The diligent prosper."

Yes, even in a nation that has largely forgotten or rejected God, his Word still reigns supreme. That's one of many things great about God: his Word endures even when mankind does our best to make a mess out of things. Do not become discouraged when we see the chaos around us. This too shall pass.

My crystal ball is broken, what I do know is that its to expensive for me to build right now. So I am finishing up what I have going on, that should take me to about 7/1.

If prices come down then I will start 3 or 4 houses, if not I'll take the rest of the year off and start again next spring.