Yakima Washington - Buyer or Seller's Market?

Question

Hello Washington!  I'm thinking about investing in the Yakima area...is the city growing? How's the demand for SFR?  thanks!

Enrique Jevons · Answer

Hello Tricia,

Yakima is a great place to invest for cash flow.  But, the growth and demand is pretty flat compared to larger urban areas.  The population percentage change from 2010 to 2014 was 2.3% according to the US Gov Census.

Tim mentioned above an increase in rents of 10%.  I have over 600 homes and apartments in Yakima, ranging from low income apartments to very large high end homes.  I'm also a board member of the Yakima Landlord Association for the past 6 years, and I have never seen a 10% increase in rents year over year.

Washington State University used to do a survey of rents in various areas that included the City of Yakima.  Each year they increase in rents have ranged from 2.4% to 2.7%.  Based on my personal experience in town, I would say that this year is no different than previous years.

As Chris mentioned above, Yakima is a very agricultural based city, so the economy does not have the highs and lows that more urban areas have.

With all that being said, it is very easy to quickly fill vacancies here if you keep your rents and expectations in line.  Yakima's been a great place for me to grow my cash flow, so I highly recommend investing here.

And, thanks to Frank whom I just met recently at a Bigger Pockets MeetUp.

Good luck investing Tricia!

Frank Matanane · Answer

Hi Tricia,

I cant speak to Yakima but you might try to reach out and follow @Enrique Jevons. He's an highly experienced investor that owns and manages properties in Yakima and just recently opened an office in Issaquah Wa. He's also been featured on a BP Podcast - awesome personal story about his investment career.

Best Wishes!

Timothy Smith · Answer

@Enrique I was just quoting numbers from a recent study.  I could easily be incorrect :)

Chris Falk · Answer

oh and as to your question about growth, I am not sure of our pop growth statistics but I get the impression Yakima growth is just steady (inside city limits). There are a decent # of people who live outside the city limits in this area. The economy is very very heavy ag dependent (apples, hops, grapes, etc) w/a smattering of some smaller industries represented in the valley. When ag is firing on all cylinders, it's kind of a rising tide lifts all boats scenario. It seems to me the residential market here never really peaks or drops dramatically but from what I hear, home sales are well ahead of last year in total dollars and the median price is up whatever % at this point. My understanding is that inventory is pretty low.

Chris Falk · Answer

I live in Yakima and while I keep eyes and ears open regarding investment real estate in general I am not personally invested in town. From talking to friends etc I'd concur w/what Timothy says above. It definitely depends on what part of town which might be some of the pockets that Timothy is referring to above. I know of a few developers who've built ground up apartments and town home style rentals in the past year and they leased up really fast it seemed....and not with discounts or concessions to speak of that I'm aware of.

Timothy Smith · Answer

SFR rents have increased significantly in Yakima over the past 12 months.  Year on year it has gone up by almost 10%.  Most of the areas around Yakima are at or above the previous cycle's peaks in terms of value.  There are still some pockets that have not yet seen appreciation back to pre-bust levels.

Tim

Yakima Washington - Buyer or Seller's Market?

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