Purchasing an investment property with the funds in an IRA has gained popularity since the housing crash of 2008. At the time, prices were, and in some cases still are, attractively low. At the same time, many investors that had been laid off during the recession found themselves looking for ways to bring in income while coincidentally rolling 401(k) balances into IRAs. Others were still reeling from the stock market crash, and were leery of financial markets. As a result, they started turning to something the felt they better understood, real estate.