What is the Goldsboro Market like?

Question

I am new to investing in the Goldsboro area.  I wanted to know what are the thoughts of people that understand that market.  Im looking at some larger houses by downtown.

Linda King · Answer

I was born and raised in Goldsboro, and although I live about 30 minutes away, I'm there almost every day. Downtown Goldsboro is an interesting area. A lot of people with "old money" own the big, nice houses in downtown Goldsboro. ("New money" people live in newer houses in Rosewood, etc.) However, only a block or two away from the "old money, big nice houses" in Goldsboro are very impoverished and crime-ridden streets.

If you're looking at the big houses downtown, I'd be careful. There are two types of big houses in downtown Goldsboro -- those that have been kept up very well, and those that haven't been kept up at all. With the latter, you're looking at BIG money in foundation repair, wiring and plumbing upgrades, etc. If you're interested in fixing and flipping, it might all be worth it....but maybe not.

Downtown Goldsboro -- despite its big renovation of Center Street and attempt to create a thriving downtown area -- isn't really appealing to a lot of people who didn't grow up in the immediate area. The crime rate is high, and many people who are looking at spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house just aren't really looking at downtown Goldsboro, even if they enjoy visiting for Center Street Jam or a nice night of dinner and drinking at Torero's. The same is true with rentals...I'm just not too sure that people will be willing to pay high rental prices for a big house in that area.

I really think that if you want to make money with rentals in downtown Goldsboro, you'll probably need to focus on C- and D-class properties. There is a shortage of affordable and easily accessible housing for the large community of poverty-stricken individuals in the area.

If you're interested in C- and D-class properties, Kinston is another area you may want to look into.

If you're truly interested in rental properties in Goldsboro in particular, you can't ignore the base presence there. Small, cheap houses or mobile homes that are in close proximity to the base are popular. Single-family homes of all types that are in other areas around Wayne County will do well with military families and "regular" families. There is definitely a shortage of rentals in Goldsboro...I just don't think the big downtown houses are necessarily the ticket.