How do you do your market research?

[Brenda Hopkins]

I'm new here and I'm curious as to how you preform your market research in locations you do not live in. Where do you start, where do you look, what do you look for/at. How do you know what would be a good investment, and what to watch out for? What draws you to a specific location, where do you find rental information at that location. Sorry, this may be very broad but I'm not sure where to start. I am so interested and want to start investing but honestly, there is just too much to learn and try to figure out. There are so many great resources that could take you a lifetime to go over just SOME of it. I've done hours of listening and reading and my mind is fried! What do you suggest? TIA

[Joshua Janus]

@Brenda Hopkins When researching a market, it is important to pay attention to the factors you highlighted above as well as what brings people to the city and what will continue to do so. If the price is relatively low/sqft and the city has a growing population and job market, the demand for homes will increase which leads to home appreciation. Also see how the specific market handles STR as that brings in a large section of rei investors and can drive prices up. Here is a quick analysis of my market. Paying attention to recent and upcoming capital investments by the city can also give you a good idea of where the money is flowing in the city and you can see if it is recovering or growing. Columbus, Ohio is a great market to invest in. The population has been growing here year over year over the last decade, it is home to The Ohio State University which has over 50,000 students that live here along with those that visit, and it also holds a diverse range of young professionals and traveling nurses to fill the demand of the multiple business corporations and hospitals stationed here. Tech companies are continuously moving here and establishing a footprint in Columbus as well. Intel is a great example, who is building the largest chip manufacturing plant in the US right here, and it will be a $20 billion dollar investment that brings a few new thousand jobs.