For clarification, the current federal capital gains tax rate of 15% does not pertain to ordinary income, but instead is applied against gains achieved through investments in real estate and securities such as stocks & bonds. Additionally, the state governments typically tack on additional capital gains taxes for their respective residents. Also understand that national residential real estate values have dropped by more than 35% over the past few years with an unprecedented amount of inventory still on the market for sale. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, our nation’s key stock index, decreased by more than 40% in the year 2008 alone.

By applying the fundamental economic principle of supply and demand it is easy to see that the supply of real estate and securities for sale drastically exceeds the consumer’s current demand to purchase. The inevitable result from such an unbalanced relationship between supply and the corresponding demand is a decrease in the perceived value of real estate, stocks and bonds. This is precisely why the federal government, economists and prominent members of the business world are constantly attempting to increase demand by acting to encourage the public to once again muster the confidence to invest in real estate and securities.

It is therefore unfathomable to suggest that the United States’ economy will be better served by increasing the capital gains tax rate for those that courageously make these investments. This is especially true at a time when confidence in investment is more direly needed than it has been for generations. The way to our economic salvation is undisputedly through reducing supply, so it is important that we don’t punish those individuals that could represent the much needed demand.

The very existence of a capital gains tax surely has Alexander Hamilton continuously turning in his grave. Our country’s founding fathers were generally of the mindset to tax primarily those activities that the public and the government wanted to discourage. Taxing the purchase or sale of foreign made goods, tobacco, luxury items and alcohol made sense to these brilliant architects of a new nation. However, the imposition of taxes on activities that directly promote the interests of the nation as a whole was certainly not what they had in mind.

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has reported that residential home sales have increased by an astonishing 115% when the last quarter of 2007 is compared against the same period for 2008. Have the experienced investors purchasing all of this property been ignorant to the steady stream of media reports warning of declines in real estate values? The answer is no, they have simply been waiting for the right time to emerge like a small swarm of locusts to steadily reap houses for sale like crop. In fact, their buying presence has been so prominent that national housing inventories of homes for sale have significantly decreased during 2008’s final quarter, a reliable sign that demand is beginning to once again catch up with supply.

But how do these brave souls know precisely when they are buying at the bottom of the market? Do they throw caution to the wind and simply force themselves to muster the courage to purchase property despite the fact that values may continue to decline in the future? The simple answer is that savvy real estate investors do not purchase property with the expectation of immediate appreciation in value. Rather, investment real estate should be purchased based on the property’s potential for positive cash-flow. Positive cash-flow occurs when a property’s rental income exceeds the owner’s costs to maintain the property. Consequently, when a property provides a positive cash-flow, a decline in real estate prices is of little concern since the owner can simply enjoy the income his property generates until the market revives and the property can be sold for further profit.

During the real estate boom years our nation became blindly infatuated with the appreciation of real estate prices, which represents the amount of value that a property will gain over time. So called house “flippers” brazenly leveraged money to buy numerous properties with the expectation that their values would increase, thus enabling them to sell the properties for handsome profits in a short period of time. These novice real estate quasi-moguls, often addicted to HGTV and other television shows created to promote the industry like Flipping Out and Flip This House, regularly failed to consider property cash-flows prior to making their purchases. Why bother when real estate values will always continue to appreciate, thereby alleviating the need to hold properties for long? After the housing bubble burst, many of these speculators realized that they shouldn’t have built their investment houses out of sticks, and social gatherings became pleasant once again.

Seasoned investors build their investments out of bricks by carefully and conservatively analyzing a property’s cash flow potential prior to purchasing. The primary reason that these investors have been sitting on the sidelines for many years is that most real estate prices have been far too high to generate positive cash-flows and a reasonable return on investment. It hasn’t been until recently that both residential and multi-family housing prices have retreated to levels where rental income will cover monthly mortgage payments and other operating costs. Further, with the construction of new housing and apartments decreasing to a virtual halt, a still rapidly growing local population, and many families displaced from foreclosed properties, an investment property’s owner is free to choose from a tenant base that is now stronger than ever. One can clearly see why a decline in real estate sales prices typically accompanies an increase in monthly rental prices.

No matter what the year 2009 holds in store for real estate investing, it is essential to remember that investing in real estate should always be considered over a long term. Although the opportunity for a “quick flip” may present itself, the distinguishing benefit to sound real estate investments is their ability to provide income no matter what the economy throws your way.

Home builders are not only adjusting due to the massive size of the senior population on the horizon, but also because of the significant purchasing power of this blossoming demographic. The younger generations that the housing industry has focused its efforts on in recent years have been relatively poor in saving their earnings and liberal with financing their homes. Conversely, seniors generally maintain strict personal finance principals whereby wages are saved and any debt is paid down as quickly as possible. Therefore, while many younger homeowners are using the bulk of their earnings to pay heavily leveraged home mortgages, many Baby Boomers are preparing to utilize their savings and the equity in their current homes to purchase the residences in which they plan to retire.

The housing industry is also embracing a shift away from the traditional assisted-living facilities into communities that offer seniors more independence and freedom. Boomers are frequently relocating into planned-unit developments (PUDs) and gated communities where regular dues are paid to a governing Homeowner’s Association (HOA) that provides for many of the amenities that they require. HOA’s will often maintain a homeowner’s yard, roof, and home exterior, while also providing for utilities, security and common areas that can include pools, clubhouses, golf courses, tennis courts, walking trails and community activities.

Other developments address many seniors’ desire to live near people with similar interests at a comparable stage in life by limiting homeownership to those over a certain age. These retirement communities also often offer a neighborhood grocery store, a pharmacy, restaurants, and more community involvement and activities that can help with the eventual transition to assisted-living facilities. Seniors have become increasingly attracted to communities that offer the convenience, mobility, amenities and freedom to maintain rich and active lifestyles as opposed to the institutional and more sterile environments provided by the more traditional models of senior housing facilities.

In terms of home features, a recent survey conducted by the Internet Home Alliance Research Council revealed that 63% of seniors have home offices in their new homes, while an amazing 70% have broadband internet access at home. The days of studio apartment-style senior living are on the wane as the vast majority of our aging population is looking to the increased square footage offered in homes with at least two bedrooms and full-sized kitchens. These findings clearly evidence the desire of seniors to maintain their connection with the world and further prolong their preferred lifestyles.

It is clear that seniors and Baby Boomers are expecting longer lives and better health and mobility than previous generations. As a result, the housing industry will need to continue to adapt in order to provide these very important segments of the population with housing that will foster the environments and lifestyles these groups require.

Well obviously if the listing is sorted, the rest is about the house itself – how you present it and how tempting it is to those who look around it. What can you do to make sure your house looks like a good buy and lets you reel in the buyers once you’ve caught your viewers’ attention?

First of all the house needs to be clean – you should ensure that you’ve got your house tidier than it normally would be and that everything is polished and dusted. While anyone who buys the house won’t be inheriting your clutter and dust (and while they’ll know this) it’s still just common sense to ensure your house is looking its best when people are looking around it as it will make it seem more appealing and make it easier for other people to imagine themselves living there. The idea is that they’re going to ‘project’ their ideal home onto the four walls you’re providing so you want it to look like a blank slate. It’s somehow hard to get excited about a room with dirty glass and stained carpets and it can ruin that image.

This means not only cleaning the inside of your home either, but also the outside – washing down the walls, adding more paint where necessary and brushing the leaves off the drive. All of this will help to improve their first impressions of your home, so that when they come down the road and pull up on your drive they’ll be impressed. This way they’ll start looking around your home already in a positive frame of mind and are thus more likely to be impressed and make a purchase.

For this same reason you should try not to clutter your house too much with your own things. This means works of art, collectables, ornaments, rugs and anything else that’s too ‘you’. The reason for this is again that it can stand in the way of them imagining the home the way they’d like it to look. For example, a young professional might be put off by lots of granny pattern or frilly curtains and will have a harder time imagining it as their own ‘pad’ or home office.

As well as cleaning and tidying you might also fix and renovate areas of your house where you think it will improve the value of your property to the extent that it’s worth the extra expense. For example, you might find that by adding an extra window in a particularly dark room you can increase the value by considerably more than the cost of the window and the installation. A smaller change might for example be to replace your door knobs with shiny new ones which can make a big impact on the whole house.

The enduring feeling that probably crosses all of our minds when thinking of Australia is that it’s supposed to be an incredibly laid back way of life. This after all is the country that coined the phrase ‘no worries’ and the friendly term ‘mate’. The image portrayed is always one of shorter working hours and a more relaxed pace of life – and in fact this image is accurate, with the place having one of the best work/life balances around making it a great place to retire to, or to head if you’re feeling a bit stressed at the pace of modern life where you currently reside.

Then there’s the weather, and Australia has a famously great climate all year round. This pleasant heat is partly what makes the laid back attitude what it is, and there’s the opportunity to go surfing at the beach without freezing to death, to bathe topless and to sit by the pool drinking a cocktail (and with no one nagging at you to go to work or do chores – they’ll all being doing the exact same thing).

The weather is then matched by the sheer variety of the scenery and the things to do. In Australia you can get thick jungle, empty planes and sprawling cities. From the great beaches to the exciting blue mountains there’s something for everyone no matter what kind of scenery you enjoy. And with booming cities like Sydney there’s also a wealth of entertainment for both night and day and you’ll never be short of things to do or places to entertain.

This range of scenery and great weather brings with it a great range of wildlife – from crocodiles to kangaroos to large snakes and spiders. While the last two might not be perfect for everyone (while it’s rare to find a spider in the toilet it can happen and might be something you want to consider if thinking of moving), the others can make for great safaris and are amazing for nature enthusiasts.

The work out there is also in abundance if you’re in the right profession – for medical professionals, carpenters, builders, plumbers and other physical labourers there’s a wealth of work and you can expect to get a visa and a salary fairly easy if you want to.

In terms of the Australian real estate prices you can be sure you’re making a good investment. With so many people dying to move to Australia you’ll be bound to sell your property fairly easily when the time comes and will also have no shortage of people wanting to rent your building for holidays and trips. While the real estate prices are fairly high in a lot of places they are all rising, and areas such as the Echo beach plots can provide fairly cheap grabs that will pay back in dividends.