According to 
marketwatch.com , the number of people interested in investing in real estate has doubled since March as more folks are lured by low prices and the wide selection of foreclosures that can be bought on the cheap, according to survey results released this week by Move.com.
Just more than 12% of potential home buyers surveyed plan to purchase a home as an investment property compared with less than 6% who said the same seven months ago, the survey found. Of those interested in buying a foreclosure, 42% were investors. About 13% of those investors would turn their foreclosures into rentals, 11% would fix them up for resale and 17% said the houses would be used by a family member until the home could be sold for a profit, according to the survey.
Of all potential buyers interested in purchasing a home -- both for investment and to live in -- 25% said they want to buy a foreclosure.
They also plan on buying low and watching their purchase pay off in the next several years. Of the potential buyers polled, 58% said they expect to pay at least 20% less than market price for a foreclosure, and 39% said they expected a 25% or greater discount. Seventy-three percent expect their properties to appreciate 10% or more in five years; 28% expect their purchases to appreciate 20% or more during the same time.
The most popular reasons given for taking action now: concern that prices have hit a bottom and a desire to take advantage of bargains, according to the results. About 1,000 people participated in the survey.
"This latest survey validates what many had hoped to see in the housing markets -- affordable prices and ample inventories are restoring the appeal of real estate to investors while providing opportunities for first-time home buyers to enter the market," said Move Inc.'s chief revenue officer, Errol Samuelson, in a news release. Move Inc. operates Move.com.
"In today's environment, regardless of whether you're an investor or interested in purchasing a home to live in yourself, residential real estate is a more attractive investment today for many than it has been in recent years."
Members of the National Association of Realtors will likely be expressing similar sentiments when they meet this weekend in San Diego for their annual conference. Check in with MarketWatch throughout the weekend for the latest real estate news from the conference.
With the first-time home-buyer tax credit extended last week -- and expanded to benefit certain move-up buyers too -- this could be an unusually busy winter for home sales.
Written by, Amy Hoak, Real Estate writer
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