If you are like most of us, each day when you open the financial times, you are besieged with different investment instruments and opportunities and wonder with dismay how to make your money grow. Why not spend some time considering real estate which is one of the oldest investment options of all time. This article will deal with three reasons why you should consider real estate investment as part of a larger investment portfolio.

Firstly, have you ever wondered why when the rich after speculating, park their profits in investment property? One possible reason is that property prices tend to move slower as compared to other instruments and real estate prices move generally in response to macro economic factors. This means that for most people who have day jobs, they can go investment property shopping in the weekends and the prices would not have changed that much.

I am sure most of us know of macro economic factors like the national jobless rate, the basic economic growth data. Generally when people are more confident about the economy, they invest more into real estate and prices increase. Thus since most of us know when the economy is booming, there is a chance that you will know when property prices might increase.

Secondly, real estate investments can give you monthly cash flow in the form of rental. There are no other investments to my mind that gives you monthly cash flow for the private investor other than loans. The tip here is therefore to look for the properties in an area with the highest rental yield.

Another thing to consider when doing real estate investment for cash flow purposes, always choose a country or city with a strong rental culture before you invest. An good example of a place with a strong rental culture would be Sydney where rental is in such high demand that collecting weekly rental from an investment property there is possible.

Thirdly, real estate investment has low risk and gives you a better return as compared with leaving your money in the bank. The key to figuring out whether this generic observation applies to your particular situation is quite simple. Just calculate the rental yield and compare it with the interest that you would have gotten from the bank after investing the same amount.

In addition, while most of us would know property investment brings with it the possibility of capital appreciation, however some people spend their energy redesigning and decorating existing properties and then reselling them at a higher price. This opportunity to make money from flipping properties would never be open to the normal person who leaves his money with the bank.

In conclusion, there are compelling reasons for you to consider putting money into real estate and real estate is today no longer solely the domain of the rich. Real estate as compared to other forms of investments is readily understood by most people and should form part of an overall investment portfolio. The key to successful investment is to spend time researching and finding out as much as you can about your potential acquisition. Take massive action towards your goals with measured analysis and may real estate investment profits be yours.

Joel Teo takes a keen interest in real estate investment as part of a larger investment portfolio. For more tips on real estate investing check out our real estate investment success series at our real estate investing resource