| The greed in the United States has not only driven this | | | | properties. There are less obvious cities, but equally |
| country to a deep and long recession, but also sparked | | | | filled with opportunities like Redmond or Bellevue in |
| a global financial crisis of unparalleled proportions. This | | | | Washington and San Mateo, Burlingame, and Los |
| fact is well known and documented. It is also well | | | | Gatos in California. Look for cities within 15 miles of the |
| documented that the commercial real estate market | | | | most urban city in your region. |
| have been severely hit leading public traded REITs like | | | | The second market to invest in is tourist locations. |
| General Growth Properties and large commercial | | | | When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the real |
| property owners like the Lembi Group out of San | | | | estate market in Louisiana was devastated. Properties |
| Francisco to file for bankruptcy protection. The herd | | | | sold in the French Quarter were selling for 1/3 of the |
| mentality says "sell, sell, sell." During these times of | | | | price before the hurricane. Once the flood and the |
| great uncertainty, it will be the contrarians that will | | | | chaos quelled, real estate in the French Quarter tripled. |
| ultimately take advantage of the steep declines in | | | | There are other places to consider like Mexico. |
| commercial properties and actually be the catalysts to | | | | Mexican cities like Cabo San Lucas or Cancun are |
| turn the economy around. So, if you have money and | | | | excellent cities in Mexico. While the Mexico flag flies in |
| are ready to invest in real estate, where are the best | | | | those cities rather than the American flag, there are |
| markets and opportunities that promise to yield optimal | | | | great opportunities in this depressed market to buy real |
| risk adjusted returns? | | | | estate. |
| The first market to invest in is urban in-fill locations. You | | | | The third are college towns. Places like Westwood |
| may have been expecting me to offer up a specific | | | | near UCLA or Berkeley next to UC Berkeley yield |
| city, but you'll find great opportunities in a myriad of | | | | some of the highest and inelastic rents in the country. |
| urban in-fill locations. Urban infill locations are places like | | | | You can even buy depressed properties near state |
| Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York to | | | | colleges like West Virginia or Fresno State. Even |
| state the obvious. These locations have large existing | | | | though the prices are low, the rents are high because |
| populations, strong job base and limited available | | | | students want to be near campus. |