There’s one thing about real estate that we can rely on – it’s not always volatile.  Yes, while real estate (and real estate investing especially) certainly has its ups and downs, they usually happen over time and not in panic.  Anyone keeping a clear head and paying close attention to the markets should be able to spot coming trends from a mile away.

Of course, part of successful real estate investing is keeping a keen eye open towards what the future holds and not getting stuck on what’s happened in the past, even if it’s just recent.  Real estate does change and only naturally its investors inevitably must change too.

So where do we stand now when it comes to investing?

Well, I think many of us can agree that mortgage market woes and the emergence of ever growing housing bubbles over the last couple of years have definitely changed the game.  For example, the trend of flipping, which was all the craze not so long ago, isn’t quite as popular as it recently was.  While it’s still possible to flip with decent results, much of its hype relied on rapidly inflating housing prices in the first place.

Short term selling is probably not the best option for investors right now.  It’s not completely clear that the market has bottomed out just yet, making short term property investments quite risky.

The key to successful investing for the near future appears to be working with the current trends.  I just read a blog post by Doug Smith, “What’s Hot and What’s Not for 2008” that does a fantastic job at highlighting some of the bright spots real estate investors should be taking a look at right now.

According to the post, a few strategies that look to be hot right now are:

• Wholesaling properties
• Rehabbing and holding properties
• Short sales
• Owner financing

In a nutshell, all of these techniques appear to revolve around the low purchase prices of distressed properties and helping homeowners that are in distress stay in their homes.  We’ve seen some of these concepts used in years past when times were tougher – it’s really no big surprise they’re making a comeback now.

So if you have a minute, be sure to check out Doug’s Post.  It does a great job quickly reviewing the potentially popular and profitable real estate investing ideas.