Avg Purchase Price Vs. Avg Rents in Your Town

[Corby Goade]

I am curious about the buy and hold markets in other cities in the US. I know there are MANY variables to this information, but let's attempt to keep it general for the sake of simplicity. In my town (Boise, ID) you could buy a basic duplex (2br/1ba each side) on the MLS for around $175K and rent each side for approx. $725. The vacancy rate in our area is about 2% and the population is around 400K.

Without getting into the details of any specific deals, how do those numbers match up with your town?

[Darren Budahn]

The numbers will vary wildly based on the neighborhoods in each city along with square footage, condition, etc.

With that being said, in Milwaukee, you can buy a 2/1 duplex off the MLS in a C or D class neighborhood for between maybe 60k down to 20k and rent would be anywhere between about $700 down to $500 per unit.

However the A and B neighborhoods are going to vary even more as far as price. For instance, in my neighborhood in Milwaukee, which is probably in the A- to B+ range, the 2/1 duplex you describe can be found for $140k to $180k and will rent for $750 to about $900