make money in real estate?

Is it still possible to make money in real estate?

With home prices continuing to plummet, many people have finally stopped seeing their family manse as a big bottomless bag of cash. But look beyond your front door, and you'll find some alternative real-estate related opportunities that are holding up despite the current economic downturn:

• Rural land: Rising food prices, demand for corn-based ethanol and a growing desire by many urbanites for a place in the country are making rural land more valuable. In 2007 over the year before, the average value of farmland rose 19.6% in Nebraska, 20.9% in Wyoming and 22.6% in Iowa, according to a survey by the Farm Credit Services of America. In his May 22 "Country Real Estate," column, Blue Grass, Va., land consultant Curtis Seltzer observed that asking prices for rural land "in most places seem to be holding their own, and are trending up in certain markets."

• Foreign real estate: Although home price growth is slowing around the globe, some countries are still on a tear, according to GlobalPropertyGuide.com. While none of these places may be your first choice for a vacation hideaway, in the first quarter of this year, home prices rose 29% in Slovakia, 28% in China, 15% in Bulgaria, 13% in Cyprus and 9% in Australia over the same period a year earlier.

• Dockominiums: With higher gas prices, the market for both dry and wet slips for small boats has been softening. Not so for the big yachts, meaning those over 80-feet long. Real estate brokers say demand for big-boat docks is so high that having one in the backyard can double a property's value. But you don't even need a residence attached to make money: At the Ocean Reef Club in the Florida Keys, a dockominium big enough for a 100-footer sold last year for $2 million; it had sold for $700,000 in 2004. The dock market is likely to remain buoyant: A study by yacht broker Camper & Nicholsons International says that there are 3,800 mega-yachts currently afloat, and predicts the number will grow to 5,000 in just two years.

• Fractional real estate: Many people who don't want to acquire and maintain a second home in a declining market still yearn for a vacation getaway. That's a big reason why fractional real estate, where an owner buys a deeded share of a residence, is gaining popularity. In many cases, developers are creating reservation systems that allow for spontaneous visits rather than locking owners into using the unit for only certain days of the year. They are also offering upscale amenities: Harborview in Nantucket, Mass., for instance, offers a private owners' lounge, access to boats, and organized beach activities. According to NorthCourse, a real estate advisory firm based in Parsippany, N.J., fractional real estate sales reached $1.98 billion in 2007, a 20% increase over the year before.