The price decline should remind homeowners, and home buyers, that housing should never be seen as a short-term speculation, but rather as a place to settle & enjoy, in the long run. Even for people who have bought several homes, the mortgage process may still be somewhat intimidating. However, Mortgage rates continue to drop helping to make home ownership a reality for many new home buyers. Real estate investment should always be seen as a long term investment which will surely provide capital gains in terms of appreciation over a period of time. Here's one such tool which will help you to determine if a property is a good investment. It’s a smart real estate rating engine that provides a lot of information & insight for making a safe real estate investment and can help produce positive cash flow for you. Look into http://www.smartzip.com/info/score