A couple years ago it didn't seem you could go wrong by investing in real estate.  However, it isn't the case right now.  Many investors are not in the best shape.  Back in 2002 the thing to do was get out of stocks and put the money in real estate.  Now the opposite is true.  Many real estate investors are selling off their real estate and putting the money in the stock market…

How things have changed.

For-sale signs are sitting ignored in some cities. Interest rates on exotic loans are doubling. Insurance premiums and property taxes are skyrocketing. Wannabe real estate tycoons stuck with properties they can't sell have been turned into landlords, forced to fix toilets and take tenant calls in the middle of the night. Many are “under water” — owing more on the mortgage than they could get by selling.

Meanwhile, stock investors have been celebrating again as broad market indexes march to new highs. And that is prompting some real estate investors to make the switch back to stocks. Real estate “isn't as lucrative as it used to be,” says Jack Patterson, a financial adviser in Coral Gables, Fla., who has been helping clients sell real estate and buy stocks.

It's a complete flip-flop from 2002, when investors tired of the bear market ravaging Wall Street cashed in their stocks and bought homes and investment property. People doing that were the subject of a USA TODAY cover story in December 2002.

To learn more on this subject, read the complete article below from USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2007-06-06-real-stocks-usat_N.htm?csp=34

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