Tools to research about markets / cities to buy apartment

Multi-Family and Apartment Investing
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Tools to research about markets / cities to buy apartment

Kat N.
Bay Area, CA · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 8 votes

Hello BP experts, 

I am researching markets / cities to buy apartment. (such as job growth, population, other key factors etc ...)

What are the best tools do you recommend to use? 

I am swimming with tons of info / Google search right now, so any help will be very much appreciated! 

Kat

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Greg Dickerson
Developer · Charlottesville, VA · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y

All the top Syndicators, multifamily brokers and industry magazines and website have lots of great info on the topic. 

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  • Sterling Chapman
    Rental Property Investor · Baton Rouge, LA · Member since 2018 · 65 posts · 76 votes
    7y

    @Kat N. I am going through the same exercise right now. Census.gov has most of the info you are looking for

    1Reply
  • Kat N.
    OP
    Bay Area, CA · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    @Sterling Chapman Thanks. I am doing it also, but it is massive. Do you go through their educational videos, or any specific surveys / tables you find that it is helpful.

    Sorry --- try to do some shortcut on that massive website. 

    1Reply
  • Greg Dickerson
    Developer · Charlottesville, VA · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    7y

    All the top Syndicators, multifamily brokers and industry magazines and website have lots of great info on the topic. 

    2Reply
  • Manny Cirino
    Real Estate Agent · Winter haven, FL · Member since 2011 · 572 posts · 336 votes
    7y

    Marcus & Millichap have a great research page where they put up market stats and trends for many different markets.

    2Reply
  • Lien VuongBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Boston, MA · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    You should also search the cities you're looking for for developments and approved permits and projects the city has passed through. 

    [email protected]
    The Elle Group5153 Reviews
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    2Reply
  • Dan HandfordPro Member
    Investor · Lexington, SC · Member since 2018 · 779 posts · 501 votes
    7y

    @Kat N. Our group uses CoStar for researching markets/submarkets in a particular city. If you are just getting started then it can be quite expensive.

    When we first got started investing in large apartments, we used city-data.com and census.gov websites which provide lots of information if you dig hard enough. 

    @Manny Cirino I also agree with Manny that you can use Marcus & Millichap as well as other national multifamily brokerage firms (CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Walker-Dunlop, NKF, HFF, etc.) to gain access to market reports. You can simply call up one of the brokers in the market you are interested in researching further and they will send you the quarterly reports.

    1Reply
  • Tj Hines
    Specialist · Tampa, FL · Member since 2012 · 933 posts · 492 votes
    7y

    @Kat N. census.gov   city-data.net   Costar and Yardi    Those are some hard systems you can use some free and some not. On the ground level be sure to reach out to the local economic development committee to see what the citys overall master plan is for the next 5-10 yrs. Also look up Neal Bawa as he offers free classes on Udemy on how to select the right markets. Very informative. He's a data scientist that plays in the multifamily space as well

    0Reply
  • Matt Engle
    Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2016 · 144 posts · 100 votes
    7y

    @Kat N. Along with city-data.com and census.gov, you can use best places.net. Once you narrow down your search, you can then reach out to local property managers who manage the type of properties you’re looking for. Good property managers know their markets really well.

    0Reply
  • Kat N.
    OP
    Bay Area, CA · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    Dear all, thank you very much for your information! It is very very helpful!

    @Manny Cirino @Dan Handford I just checked out Marcus & Millichap. Tons of great information over there! Thanks so much! 

    @Dan Handford: yeah, I know some top syndicates use Costar. At high level, can you tell the differences of Costar vs. other free info such as census.gov, city-data.com, free reports from top CRE brokers? Since you pay for Costar services, I am assuming the difference is substantial, and I would like to understand the decision process.

    @Tj Hines Thanks so much! I will check out Neal Bawa class, it sounds useful. Yes, I will check out city's master plan once I narrow down my city list!

    @Matt Engle Yes, I sure will reach out property managers. Do you think PM will have biased opinion? Of course they want investors to invest so PMs will have job. Any thoughts about it?

    @Lien Vuong Thanks Lien for the tips of checking the building permit! 

    1Reply
  • Matt Engle
    Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2016 · 144 posts · 100 votes
    7y

    @Kat N. The good PMs will give it to you straight. If it sounds like they are trying hard to sell the area, get a second opinion from another PM.

    0Reply
  • Kat N.
    OP
    Bay Area, CA · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    Ah I see. Thanks @Matt Engle for the suggestion! 

    0Reply
  • Todd Dexheimer
    Rental Property Investor · St. Paul, MN · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

    I wrote an article on this not too long ago. This may help: 

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/10145/83188-finding-emerging-markets

    1Reply
  • Manny Cirino
    Real Estate Agent · Winter haven, FL · Member since 2011 · 572 posts · 336 votes
    7y

    ULI(urban land institute) just released a new video from there recent conference you may want to check out on youtube. 

    ULI Emerging Trends in Real Estate 002

    0Reply
  • Kat N.
    OP
    Bay Area, CA · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    Awesome, thanks so much @Todd Dexheimer and @Manny Cirino! 

    0Reply
  • Robins Dorvil
    Rental Property Investor · South Florida and Central Florida · Member since 2017 · 50 posts · 40 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Todd Dexheimer:

    I wrote an article on this not too long ago. This may help: 

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/10145/83188-finding-emerging-markets

     Love it. Great content

    0Reply
  • Ryan Butler
    MA · Member since 2010 · 14 posts · 6 votes
    6y

    @Kat N. I know this thread is a few weeks old, but I checked out Neal Bawa per @Tj Hines suggestion. I ended up buying his Udemy course "Best Cities and Neighborhoods for Real Estate Investing". It was extremely informative. He does a great job of breaking down important metrics and how to easily find all the necessary information. I highly recommend it if you're overwhelmed (like I was) by all the data that's available around the internet.

    0Reply
  • Kat N.
    OP
    Bay Area, CA · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 8 votes
    6y

    Thank you so much @Ryan Butler! I actually studied Neal Bawa course as well, and I agreed, it is extremely informative and a concrete plan of step to step. 

    0Reply
  • Kat N.
    OP
    Bay Area, CA · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 8 votes
    6y

    Hi Antonio, I don't see your Youtube link, can you post it again? Thanks :D 

    0Reply
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