I have been thinking lately that it has been a slow stock market this year. The amount of opportunities has been dwindling lately. We only have around 300 stocks in the stock market, 30 of which I don’t want to watch because its already in the index and is very expensive at current valuations. Around 100 of those are crappy stocks. And maybe half of those I don’t understand the business. Together with unethical management, there’s only quite a few companies worth following.
Looking for opportunities in real estate has been on my mind lately. According to my research, real estate opportunities starts with the listings of the bank. Those bank hand out those listings to brokers. Those brokers then sell the listings to their clients, to themselves and lastly to the public. Which means, the good ones will never see the light of day in the public. Which means, the brokers have the power to choose which are good and have the first pick at the pie.
I believe that being a broker in real estate would be a beneficial asset if I’m an investor in real estate. Less fees, first pick in the real estate offerings. But the law permitting who will become a broker have been changed since 2016. A broker used to be someone who can take the brokers exam and pass. Now, you need a degree in Real Estate Management to take the exam and pass. What the politicians are thinking, I don’t know. With only a handful of schools offering those courses and most of them in Manila, how do people in other regions Visayas and Mindanao going to get a broker’s license.
Anyway, I’m going to pursue the education while I wait for opportunities. It could be fun going back to school again.