New to this goup, and was wanting to know what is the best online resource for finding how much the rental demand there is in any selected market, and how many vacancies there are, also average rental rates. I know there has got to be a resource. and obviously I could google or toggle with Zillow and trulia, but there probably is an easier way, such a silly rookie I am. Thank you for you assistance.
Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
7y
@Will Randolph this may sound obvious, but if you speak with local realtors and property managers they can often give you that data fairly easily. I am often surprised when I mention that I can pull this type of data for my clients here in the Chicago area, and they don't think to as me even after we have closed a deal or two together!
New York City, NY · Member since 2017 · 30 posts · 8 votes
7y
@Will Randolph it might be a worthwhile exercise to dig through census data. While it’s somewhat tedious, most third party data is a derivative of census figures.
While you are right that you can google all of this, it is helpful to remember that the information you are looking at are averages. It provides a frame of reference, but is far from the whole picture.
My method is less quantitative, but works well in my area. I go on the Craigslist Apartments section and look at the apartments for rent in my area. This allows me to compare a property that I'm looking at to similar properties (location, quality of finishes, size) in the area. If the listing is up for a long time, I know that the asking rent is probably above market. Craigslist is only one channel, but it will give you an idea of what else is on the market and how quickly apartments are getting rented. Checking back every few days will give you a good feel for the market. Hopefully this is helpful.
I definitely agree with @Sean L. on finding census data when you are looking to take a more quantitative approach.
Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2018 · 79 posts · 30 votes
7y
i agree with @sean lasher census.gov data will be most accurate but for the most time sensitive you will probably need to talk to a realtor or property manager. There are also quarterly reports released by different brokerages
Thanks guys, whew census is already getting the affect of the recent government shutdown, I browsed through the site, and it’s not the clearest on how to generate the data you might need. Is it all about making a table and using the drop downs for what you want? Thanks again.