Now, let's suppose you are planning to invest in real estate ... you might want to ask yourself two questions -

Where will you invest? And

What sort of property will you buy?

Why ask questions like these? Well, like some wise person said, money is made when buying. It's very important that the buying decision is a very good one ... that decision alone might greatly increase the possibility and amount of profits made.

Also, buying real estate properties at relatively low prices in areas that have very good fundamentals and future prospects is one way to almost guarantee profits.

One way to answer the first question might be to see which are the fastest growing communities ... and then determine why they are the fastest growing communities.

For instance, according to a recent article on netscape.com, Greeley, Colo. is one of the fastest growing communities ... and the possible reason stated for it being one of the fastest? Its relatively inexpensive homes and its proximity to a major metropolitan center.

If Greeley remains at the head of the list of fastest growing communities for another year or two, its "relatively inexpensive homes" might become fairly expensive ... and by that time the people who saw this trend first and bought homes there would have made many a pretty penny :-)

Communities with the fastest rate of population growth can also see very high real estate value appreciations.

And coming to our second question, what sort of property will you buy?

Well, the answer to the first question might determine the possible choices for this ... for the type of property to buy might well depend on where you buy property ...

Location might determine the best type of property to buy ...

For instance, luxury property has a been one of the best performing segments of real estate, but you may not want to buy luxury property as an investment option just about anywhere - maybe if you chose to buy property in Beverly Hills, then luxury real estate would be a great option.

And what if you are buying property in a fast growing community where a large percentage of the new population is single families? Then maybe buying single-family homes would be a good option...

And if a large percentage of the population is retirees, then you might want to determine what types of property people in their golden years prefer.