While many people have jumped into fixing and flipping houses over the years, there are also many benefits to buying real estate that you can hold onto for longer periods of time as a consistent source of income. Here are seven benefits that real estate investments have over other investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds.

1. Positive cash flow. Sound investments in commercial and investment-purpose real estate can generate a steady stream of income that can be used for savings, reinvestment, or leverage on additional properties and that can potentially outlast other investments such as 401Ks and other retirement funds.
2. Speedy returns. While most investments take some amount of time before you can realize a return, investment real estate holdings can produce returns through monthly rental payments or by flipping a fixer-upper almost immediately. However, this can vary depending on market conditions and the initial condition of the property at the time of purchase.
3. Insider information. While it is illegal to obtain insider information about stocks, it’s highly advisable to garner all the knowledge you can about your local real estate market and to act on that knowledge by only purchasing properties in the areas with which you are familiar.
4. Known value. The value of a property can be assessed in multiple ways: financial analysis, comparable properties, and appraisals. These give you the ability to determine whether a property is a good deal for you and will yield the return you desire.
5. Discounted properties. Unlike stocks, which can be bought low but not below “market value,” it is possible to grab up properties for less than their appraised value, whether it’s because they are undervalued or in need of improvements.
6. Improved properties. There are numerous ways to enhance your investment properties that will either allow you to raise rents or to resell them for substantially more than your initial investment.
7. Leverage. While other investments typically require you to commit the full amount of the investment in cash, properties can often be purchased with a down-payment of only 20 to 40% of the total amount. With a hard money or bridge loan, you can buy an invest in a property for six months to two years and only be out the cash for the down-payment and the interest-only loan payments. This leaves you with more cash to leverage on other properties allowing for greater diversification of your investment portfolio.