Salem Oregon Market Trend Question

[Luke Miller]

Good Afternoon,

I was looking for some opinion on the Salem, Oregon housing market. I am looking to relocate their this summer and have some questions.

1.) Is there a buy and hold market? I ask because it doesn't appear many rental properties are available. This is either really good from a landlord perspective or possibly that the market doesn't support long term rentals.

2.) If there is a buy and hold market, who is the demographic renting; i.e. college students, government employees, etc.?

3.) Overall market trend. When I crunch the numbers it makes sense to rent or buy. The properties aren't projected to bring me in significant cash flow when I would convert the property to a rental, but it might be an area that will appreciate over the next 10+ years. I am ok with breaking even on a buy and hold if the appreciation is there.

We are moving there for 3+ years so I can finish school and don't really want to be renters again. However, I follow the numbers and it's a toss-up without knowing the local market (I am in Florida with three single family houses).

Thanks for the insight and opinion.

Luke