Responding to the latest figures released yesterday from the Commerce Department showing selling prices of new houses suffered the biggest decrease since 1970, Robert Shemin - Wall Street Journal best-selling author, nationally renowned speaker and major real estate investor - identified five strong strategies to reassure nervous investors.

"The way you make money is not following the herd," advises Shemin. "Lower prices mean greater investment opportunities because there are more motivated sellers and more deals coming on the horizon. Now is definitely the time to buy - but to buy smart."

Shemin's strategies:

1. Buy to hold Historically long term investors almost always do well. A long term investment strategy is five to seven years plus. Medium is 6-months to five years and short term is less than six years.

2. Buy cash flow Speculators take a chance on rapidly appreciating properties and risk a softening market but investors look for investments that produce cash flow from day one. Be an investor. Go for cash flow.

3. Find secret appreciating markets Look for areas that didn't appreciate a lot in the past four years and are now steadily climbing or where there is strong job growth. These translate to housing demand and are the best-kept secrets in real estate. I personally like Huntsville, Alabama; Nashville, Tennessee and pretty much all of North Carolina.

4. Uncover "hidden" markets There are exciting markets within markets that make strong investment opportunities. Las Vegas as a market is very soft right now, but in the low to moderate income there is a strong demand for new homes - starter homes - in the $200,000 to $250,000 range. So there is a strong market within a weaker one. Miami is the same. The Miami market is soft, but there is still strong demand for quality beach properties in the $500,000 to $3 million range. So just because a market may have slowed down, look for other opportunities or mini-markets within.

5. Buy international Don't be afraid to invest in other countries. Do your homework. Talk to other investors. Go to a seminar. Then make your choice. My two favorite picks right now are The Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.