A couple of years ago the most successful investor of our time,  Warren Buffett, said on CNBC that he would buy  single family homes if he had the means to manage them.  The most  interesting comment he made during his interview was that houses will be a better investment than stocks over the long term.  This coming from a man who continues to deliver amazing returns through his highly successful Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett’s surprising announcement was taken seriously by  private equity funds and other institutional investors who started buying, not only thousands of single-family rental properties, but duplexes and multi family houses.

For us here at GEMS it is nice to see that one of the most successful investors in history agrees with our philosophy of investing in real estate.

Investing tip from Warren Buffett (2012)

‘If I am an investor, I would buy a couple of them (houses) at distressed prices, find renters and take a 30 year mortgage. Its a leverage way of owning a very cheap asset. It is probably an attractive way of investment as you can make.’

Fast forward 2014, Buffett’s again touched the subject of real estate investing this time via 2014 Annual Letter to the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders. He discussed his own personal real estate investments experience and offered the following advice:

  1. You don’t have to be an expert in order to achieve satisfactory investment returns.
  2. Don’t swing for the fences.
  3. When promised quick profits, respond with a quick NO!
  4. Focus on the future productivity of your asset you are considering.
  5. With 2 small investments, I thought only what the properties would produce and not all about daily valuations.
  6. Listening to market predictions of others is a waste of time because it might blur your vision of the facts that are really important.