The forums this week are more full of hope and optimism. There is little doubt that the last 12 months have been a rollercoaster experience for many in the property world. But at last there are more helpful suggestions and fewer moans and groans.
One thread on the propertycommunity.com forum which began a year ago charts the ups and downs of the year. The original poster wanted to know which of the emerging markets in March 2008 were worth investing in. Romania, Brazil, Argentina, Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur were ones that he was considering.
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So it is interesting to see what has happened to these particular markets in this time. When the post started the advice was to look to the Middle East with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Egypt all mentioned as offering good yields and capital appreciation.
Well, we all know what has happened to Dubai, with reports of prices falling up to 40%, Abu Dhabi has seen falls too but not on the same scale as its neighbouring emirate and Egypt seems to have weathered the worst of the crisis.
By April and May currency fluctuations were beginning to affect the choice of investment market as the dollar and the pound both began to fall, rise and fall. There was talk of the US, especially Florida, being a good investment because of steep price falls, foreclosure bargains and the weak dollar.
But look what has happened in the US? Prices are still falling and many say they have not yet bottomed out so investing last April might not have been a brilliant deal.
By May Argentina was being backed as a good opportunity. But the downside is that finance can be hard to come by. However by all accounts the markets in South American countries like Argentina and Brazil have been keeping themselves going.
Responses indicated that there would be no problem finding 6% yield and capital growth in three years in Romania. Well time has shown that prediction to be unlikely now.
Australia and New Zealand both crop up but unfortunately these markets have suffered too in the global property downturn.
Then there is the Bahamas, Thailand, Mexico and Singapore. It is not surprising that by February the Middle East is no longer being suggested. 'I think it is too late to buy in Dubai,' is one response that perhaps states the obvious although the poster does suggest looking at untried markets like Cambodia.
Indeed, although it is not mentioned in this post, you can tell from reading news articles on Property Wire that Vietnam is also emerging as a property location where a lot of money is being poured into the real estate sectors by the government.
Other barely touched markets that are mentioned include Zanzibar and Equatorial Guinea. Many parts of Africa are unknown quantities when it comes to property investment although more and more Middle East developers seem to be looking towards Africa as having future potential.
In the US Spring could be bargain time for property investors seeking to buy up cheap foreclosures. According to a post on the biggerpockets.com forum many banks have been holding onto properties which will be unleashed on the market in the coming weeks.
There could be up to 600,000 properties nationwide that have been repossessed by banks but not put on the market. The result could be bad for sellers as huge numbers of properties flooding onto the market and drive prices down even further or good for buyers as bargains get better.
There are also likely to be plenty of bargains coming up in the UK property market as investors start to believe that prices are reaching the bottom, according to a thread on the propertysecrets.net forum.
Those with cash seem to be poised, ready to pounce on the bargains. Some are expecting further price falls in the south east of England in particular based on the argument that the places that saw the highest price increases will see the steepest price falls.
It is always good, bit often rare, to come across happy stories on the property forums. So it is a pleasure to read about them on the eyeonspain.com forum. It shows that there are trustworthy estate agents and lawyers out there and even developers that will listen to a client's needs and make adjustments if necessary.
