"All Real Estate is Local" by David Lereah

Subtitle: "What You Need to Know to Profit in Real Estate-in a Buyer's and a Seller's Market."

I expected more from this book since David Lereah was the Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors.  You can tell the book was written by an economist as it is not very exciting to read and it is filled with statistics, lists, and charts.  I was more interested in where the information for the charts came from so I could compile my own statistics for my area.  I am not likely to buy real estate far from where I live now so I am not that interested in what the real estate market is doing in San Fransisco, for instance.

The book explains there are forces outside the local area that affect the value of real estate with chapters like "The Power of Influence, "Baby Boomers and Other Megatrends", and "What Bud Selig and Oprah Have To Do With Real Estate." 

For me the most interesting part of the book was the chapter "Real Estate Markets and DNA."  The chapter explains that each market is unique and it has it's own DNA.  This DNA is made up of notable characteristics such as affordability, sports teams, education/universities, and geographic amenities like mountains, lakes or oceans.

The DNA is also made from the demographics of the people living there.  So, do you live in an area of highly educated people?  Are you in a retirement area of older people or a town filled with college kids?  Are people moving into your area or moving out?  It made me look more closely at the area I live in and what my local area's DNA is and what type of real estate would be a good investment.

One thing about the book that surprised me was the talk about buying real estate investments with a negative cash flow with the expectations that rents will go up and you will at some point have a positive cash flow.  I don't know about you but I was never interested in owning a rental property where not only did I have to put up with tenants and maintenance problems but I had to pay money every month toward the expenses of the place.  I always wanted positive cash flow when I bought a property.  My family and I just sold a condo that I bought eight years ago and I was never able to increase the rents that much.  More supply kept coming onto the market that kept rents in balance.  Luckily, we had a positive cash flow from the day we bought the place.  This was the local DNA of my market. 

So, bottom line of the book is to know your market and figure out where it is going and what outside influences are affecting your market.

I was able to borrow the book from my local library.  I wouldn't recommend spending your own money to get the book but if you can borrow it from the library.  I say go for it.