Seeking advice: purchase SFR vs 2-3 unit Multi-family in Tucson?

Question

I'm looking into purchasing either a SFR or 2-3 unit MFR in Tucson, AZ, near the University of Arizona and its major medical center. I know nationally there has been a glut of MFR entering the market. Does anyone know if this is the case in Tucson? If not, where would I go to find this data? With that being said, would the demographic I rent the 2-3 unit MFR be different from the demographic targeted by this massive rise in larger MFR (apartment complexes etc)? If not true, should I expect greater returns from the MFR versus the SFR? Would you all recommend purchasing SFR over small MFR?

Kelsey Vander Meulen · Answer

This is incredibly helpful! Thank you Golan 🙏

Golan Corshidi · Answer

Key Kelsey! For data, I love Redfin's data center. Here is the link: https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/

I did a basic search of the general Tucson area and here's what the chart looks like for MFR active listings since June 2020.

You can also look at other data points like Median sale price, days on the market, etc.

In regards to demand demographics, yeah I think you'd be targeting a different group, and supply/demand has to be looked at closer. I am not sure what the demand looks like specifically, I would look at the rental market for that data and see if you can command the rents you need to make the deal work.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

Seeking advice: purchase SFR vs 2-3 unit Multi-family in Tucson?

2 Replies