Good things come to those who wait, and there doesn’t seem to be any exception for exchange traded fund (ETF) investors, either. There have been some good days in the markets and early reaction to President-elect Barack Obama’s plans is positive…but not to fast.

ETFs, stocks, mutual funds and real estate are looking quite affordable right now, however, many are cautioning that things are going to get much cheaper and valuations will keep looking even better, reports Nancy Trejos for the Washington Post.

Both the housing market and global stock markets are going to get worse before they can get better. The pessimistic angle on stocks is that in the long-term, stocks are driven by a stable economy. Our economy is far from it, and there are too many unknowns.

The realm of the unknowns include:

• We don’t know how many more banks will fail.
• The auto industry is up in arms.
• There are more job losses looming.
• There are people who are still going to declare bankruptcy.
• Will the Federal bailout plans work?

Before anything similar to “business as usual” can resume, these issues must be resolved. As institutional investors are on the sidelines right now, many individual investors are frozen, pondering a mattress for safekeeping.

In 2009, there are many other factors to consider such as corporate balance sheets, and corporate earnings health.

On the optimistic side, however, the stock market is looking super-delicious for bargain hunters. Don’t just jump in full-force, however: be prepared with a strategy. By keeping tabs on market trends and watching the 50 day-moving-average, there are other market indicators to watch for. Some signs the market may have stabilized include the inventory of unsold homes falling, houses selling more quickly than they have in recent years, and prices starting to go up.

Tags: Automobiles, Financial, Obama