Seeking Perspective on Buying in MA/Northeast Given Macro Factors

[Will Rockwell]

Hey, everyone-

Curious to get some perspective from experienced MA/New England investors because I’ve hit an interesting crossroads in my analysis.

For context, I'm pursuing my first house-hack (FHA owner-occupied multifamily) and have spent the last couple months underwriting a lot of deals in Salem, Beverly, Lynn, etc. What I've found is-

• - Haven’t found a duplex that comes close to penciling at current prices
• - The only deals that seem remotely workable are usually 3-families with cosmetic/layout inefficiencies in B/C-class areas
• - Appreciation and rent growth both seem to be slowing materially relative to the last few years

At the same time, I’m trying to reconcile my analysis with MA/Northeast affordability issues, domestic migration out of MA, and some higher earners/businesses leaving the state, while also considering there’s still the reality that Greater Boston/North Shore supply’s constrained and historically has seen strong long-term appreciation.

I’m not interested in out of state because I don’t have an operating team elsewhere and want to self-manage, so I’m curious how others are approaching this. I’d love to know how others are adjusting their buy-box, whether they’re still betting on appreciation, and how many offers they’re realistically making before landing something workable (I expect it’ll take 10-20 offers before finding something where the numbers make sense).

Would love hear from anyone working in these, or similar, markets!

-Will