Thats a big mistake. Real estate is still the number one vehicle for building wealth in America today and will probably be so throughout our lifetime and our children's lifetime.

There are many reasons why this is so, but the two biggest reasons are one the reality of life; "You have to have a place to live!" and two, "The leverage" that real estate allows.

Lets explore each:

The reality of life seems to escape some people in a slow market, but here it is restated so it is easy to understand:

Everyone needs a place to live.

We are pack animals and we like to live near one another (and the requirements of water, sewer, electricity, etc. make this unavoidable).

There are more of us than ever before, and the numbers are growing.

We come in varying degrees of economic strength ( so we buy real estate in many differing price ranges and types of configuration).

Reason number two the Leverage, restated in everyday terms:

Real Estate is the only investment I know of where you can get in the game for as little as five to 10 percent of purchase price (in rare occasions a little less, and sometimes it might take a little more, but 5 to 10 is doable all day long).

The stock market offers you a margin account where you could invest for 50% down, try buying rare coins for 10% of the sellers asking price! Real estate allows an investor to obtain ownership for as low as 1/20 th of the price of the product, and then to receive the entire 100% appreciation during ownership!

If the above wasn't enough to make real estate the way to go (and it is), while you're owning it you can have others (tenants) pay the debt service (mortgage payment), and receive varying tax benefits from the government.

There are an unlimited number of ways to "Play" in the real estate market, but they all should be preceded by a good basic education of what the opportunity is about. I think that basic foundation can be obtained best by taking a solid real estate licensing course (the State of Florida's real estate license courses are robust!).

You can now avail yourself of a solid understanding of the basics of real estate online, and you can do so for under $300, a bargain in my mind!