Investors Opt Out of Real Estate

USA Today reports that a soft market is making some real estate investors switch back to stocks.

While real estate can be lucrative, says the publication, "it often comes with headaches and hidden costs. Those may have been tolerable when home prices were soaring, but now that prices have stabilized or even started to drop, the annoyances are deal killers."

The paper adds that "some investors want to get out, but fear they're so far in the hole already that they don't want to take the loss."

Read more here.

So does that mean that investing in real estate is a bad idea for everyone right now? Not at all. Some feel that property prices are bottoming out and that it's a buyer's market. But as with nearly all investments, there are no guarantees.

Real estate investors who are looking for a "quick flip" should assess their risk tolerance and ability to ride through rough patchs. But for those who have the resources (and intestinal fortitude) to invest in additional properties and hold them for a while, there are bargains to be found.