Best Way To "Learn" a Market?

Question

Hello fellow BP members, California Investor here looking to expand from LA into the Eastern US markets, Kansas city, Indianapolis, and Raleigh, NC (where I grew up) to name a few. Mainly learned my local LA market through trial and error, and now know the price points and zip codes of my market and whats good and what is not. What are some recommendations you have for studying up on these new markets?

Caroline C. · Answer

Pick a market first so you can focus all your efforts.  Give it some time and them move to another market if the first one doesn't prove promising, rather than focus on several at once.

I've managed to network via friends, friends of friends, or work acquaintances into a trusted realtor in my chosen market who could jump start things.  But that aside, I agree with the previous suggestion that joining a local REIA is the way to go - take a trip there around a REIA meeting - it's the best way to meet people and get introductions.  You'll meet people here on BP, but you have to filter out those that are just trying to sell / market themselves.

Com M. · Answer

Hi @Harrison Blaufuss

Fellow SoCal member investing in Indy, there is a lot of homework you will do but at the end of the day you are relying heavily on your team, at first your realtor that found the house and has given you their future predictions of the area,  then your PM will tell you what they think of the home and area, if you like it and place an offer then after the detailed inspection you can call and talk to the inspector for a few minutes about the house and area.  All of that of course after the normal DD of the blocks, neighborhood, and street.  After sending a few hundred over to your realtor you will get a feel for which areas/neighborhoods to stay away from.

Always happy to share anything, let me know if you have any questions.

Best of luck finding your first deal!

Brett G. · Answer

Also, read the local news and get a feel of what is going on there, where things are going on, economics of the area, etc.  Real estate related articles can be helpful.  Occasionally, there will be articles about certain parts of the city that has plans for revitalization.  You can learn about businesses and companies that are coming and going in the area...

Call property managers and Realtors and ask them about the city, places to avoid, places to look in to...

Chris Dawson · Answer

@Harrison Blaufuss, here are my suggestions:

1 Do online research on the city.  city-data.com is a good place to start.  Obviously search on BP.

2 Reach out to local experts to build your local team.  You'll need a real estate agent, a GC, and a PM, at a minimum.  You can find these on BP.

3 Plan a trip to the city to meet your potential team and to drive around and get a feel for the areas.

4 Join a local REI group and try to attend one of their events while you are in town.

Hope this helps.

Eric James · Answer

I would need to spend at least a few weeks there to start feeling that I had a sense of the area.

Mike D'Arrigo · Answer

@Harrison Blaufuss it depends on what you're trying to learn. You can easily get a 60K foot view of a market by studying readily available economic and demographic trends but to really know the ground level nuances you need to spend some time in the market.

Best Way To "Learn" a Market?

Most Popular Reply