Memphis Tennessee Market Questions
Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2026 · 9 posts · 7 votes
Memphis Tennessee Market Questions
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Jordan RayBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Memphis, TN · Member since 2023 · 642 posts · 333 votesWelcome to BiggerPockets! I’m an investor and investor-friendly agent here in Memphis, and if you already want to eventually live in Tennessee, I think Memphis is absolutely worth taking seriously. You’re seeing one of the biggest advantages of this market firsthand—your capital simply goes much further. Instead of putting $600K–$700K into one duplex, you can potentially spread that capital across multiple properties here, diversify your income, and still find deals that meet or exceed the 1% rule while getting appreciation over time when you buy in the right locations. Since you’re actually willing to relocate, I’d also seriously consider house hacking your first Memphis duplex. You could purchase with owner-occupied financing, live in one side, rent the other, learn the market firsthand, and potentially reduce your own housing expense while building equity and getting comfortable operating a Memphis rental. From there, you could start acquiring additional properties through traditional financing or BRRRR. If you pursue value-add deals, we also have local hard money lenders that can finance 100% of the purchase and 100% of the rehab, with many investors getting into deals with around $10,000 out of pocket before refinancing into long-term financing. Before buying, spend time driving Memphis and learning the neighborhoods while practicing analyzing ARVs, rents, rehab costs, and market trends because this is a very neighborhood-driven market. I'd also build a strong team around you—an investor-friendly agent who also owns rentals, a good property manager, reliable general contractor, and the right hard money and DSCR lenders. If your long-term plan is already to live in Tennessee, house hacking a Memphis duplex while building the rest of your portfolio around you could be a really strong way to get started. Feel free to reach out, talk soon!
Jordan Ray - eXp Realty5112 Reviews
6 Replies
- 1wDiana KhanPro MemberAttorney · 10451 Mill Run Cir #755 Owings Mills, MD 21117 · Member since 2024 · 456 posts · 172 votes
Quote from @Josiah Shipp:
Is Memphis a good place to move for rental property investing? I am able to move anywhere in the US and am very flexible in location. I'm currently in Colorado Springs where a decent duplex is going for 600-700k and in Memphis I see them going for around 200, seems like my dollars would be a lot more valuable and i would have a lot more leverage in the lower priced market. 3 duplexes for the price of one and fair market rent seems very healthy in the Memphis area when compared to home prices. I also am hoping to eventually live in Tennessee anyways so I wouldnt plan to relocate from there long term. I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Thanks!
@Josiah Shipp, I’ve seen investors make this same comparison when their home market gets too expensive. A $200K duplex can absolutely open up more options than a $600K or $700K property, but I would look at more than how many properties the same money can buy.
I would compare the real monthly numbers after taxes, insurance, repairs, vacancy, property management, and any older systems that may need work. I would also spend time in the exact neighborhoods you are considering because rental demand can change a lot from one area to the next, even within the same city. Since you are already thinking about living in Tennessee long term, that is another big advantage because you would eventually be investing in a market you can actually get to know firsthand.
I’d love to stay connected and hear what you find as you compare Memphis with Colorado Springs. This is exactly the kind of decision where looking beyond the purchase price can really change the answer.
- 1wWalter JonesBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Memphis, TN · Member since 2018 · 102 posts · 102 votes
Josiah, I’m a Memphis agent and investor and own and self-manage 20 doors here, including a fourplex and six duplexes.
I would be a little careful with the idea that three $200K Memphis duplexes automatically beat one $600K duplex somewhere else, though. Memphis can vary dramatically from one neighborhood to another, sometimes within a relatively short distance. A duplex that looks great based on price and projected rent can be a very different investment once you factor in tenant base, maintenance, turnover and management.
There are Memphis duplexes I’d be very comfortable owning and others I wouldn’t buy regardless of what the spreadsheet says.
Overall, I still like small multifamily here. Feel free to reach out if you want to do a deeper dive on Memphis or compare some properties and numbers. And if you make it to town, I’d be happy to grab some BBQ and talk real estate.
- 6dJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
nice to get a local with a non bias MY market is the best reply !!!! I think the biggest issue is tenants .. who are your tenants in CO and do they pay who are your tenants in Memphis and do they pay..
- 6dJordan RayBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Memphis, TN · Member since 2023 · 642 posts · 333 votes
Welcome to BiggerPockets! I’m an investor and investor-friendly agent here in Memphis, and if you already want to eventually live in Tennessee, I think Memphis is absolutely worth taking seriously. You’re seeing one of the biggest advantages of this market firsthand—your capital simply goes much further. Instead of putting $600K–$700K into one duplex, you can potentially spread that capital across multiple properties here, diversify your income, and still find deals that meet or exceed the 1% rule while getting appreciation over time when you buy in the right locations. Since you’re actually willing to relocate, I’d also seriously consider house hacking your first Memphis duplex. You could purchase with owner-occupied financing, live in one side, rent the other, learn the market firsthand, and potentially reduce your own housing expense while building equity and getting comfortable operating a Memphis rental. From there, you could start acquiring additional properties through traditional financing or BRRRR. If you pursue value-add deals, we also have local hard money lenders that can finance 100% of the purchase and 100% of the rehab, with many investors getting into deals with around $10,000 out of pocket before refinancing into long-term financing. Before buying, spend time driving Memphis and learning the neighborhoods while practicing analyzing ARVs, rents, rehab costs, and market trends because this is a very neighborhood-driven market. I'd also build a strong team around you—an investor-friendly agent who also owns rentals, a good property manager, reliable general contractor, and the right hard money and DSCR lenders. If your long-term plan is already to live in Tennessee, house hacking a Memphis duplex while building the rest of your portfolio around you could be a really strong way to get started. Feel free to reach out, talk soon!
Jordan Ray - eXp Realty5112 Reviews - 6dJames WachobBusiness MemberReal Estate Broker · Memphis, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 890 votes
Hey @Josiah Shipp ! I think your thinking makes sense, especially if you’re already considering Tennessee long term. Memphis definitely has a much lower entry point than markets like Colorado Springs, which can give you more flexibility with your capital and make it possible to build a portfolio without putting everything into one property.
That said, I wouldn’t look at it as simply getting three properties for the price of one. You still want to be selective about the neighborhood, tenant demand, taxes, insurance, repairs, and property management. The numbers can look great on paper, but the specific property and area make a big difference in how the investment performs.
I’m a real estate agent based in Memphis and work with investors who are building rental portfolios, including people relocating from out of state. If you’re seriously considering moving to Tennessee, I’d be happy to connect, show you around the Memphis market, and help you compare different areas and investment opportunities.
- 6hJosh HandlerPro MemberContractor · Memphis, TN · Member since 2026 · 67 posts · 74 votes
Three Memphis agents have answered you, which should tell you something about how this thread works, so here's the construction seat instead. Disclosure up front: I run a construction company here, all trades in house, so I'm biased toward you coming. Read it accordingly.
The part nobody has said yet is about duplexes specifically, and it matters more than the price comparison.
Memphis duplex stock is mostly 1950s through 1970s, and a meaningful share of it is converted single family rather than purpose-built. That changes the questions. Before you ask about rent, ask how it's METERED. Separate electric and gas is normal here. Separate WATER very often is not, and on a single water meter you own the entire water bill for both sides plus the argument between two tenants about who used it. That's a permanent line item that never shows up in a listing.
Same logic on the mechanicals. Ask whether each side has its own furnace and its own water heater. In a converted duplex they're frequently shared, and a shared system means one failure takes out both units' income at once, in February. And the drain: two units, one main line, and in that vintage it's cast iron. When it backs up, both tenants call you the same night.
So on any Memphis duplex, my pre-offer list is short. Number of water meters. Furnace count and water heater count. A camera in the main drain. Whether the second unit was original or added, and if added, whether it was permitted. That last one has legal and lender consequences, not just construction ones.
Now the strategic point, which is the actual reason moving might be worth it.
Out-of-state money in Memphis pays a premium for CERTAINTY. Renovated, tenanted, managed, photographed. That premium is real and it's the whole business model of a chunk of this market. What a local person gets is the ability to buy UNCERTAINTY at a discount, because you can stand in a house on a Tuesday and decide. If you move here and then compete with out-of-state buyers for the clean turnkey duplexes, you've given up your only structural edge and kept all the hassle of moving. The version that pays for the move is buying the ones nobody can underwrite from a thousand miles away.
That's also the version that requires you to actually know what the work costs, which is the skill to go build first.
Two honest cautions. Three duplexes instead of one isn't just three times the cash flow, it's six tenants, three roofs, three sewer lines and three sets of turns. The operational load scales with the doors even when the dollars look better. And block-level variance here is severe enough that two streets six blocks apart are different investments. You cannot learn that from Colorado and you also can't learn it in a weekend. Rent here for a year before you buy a primary. That costs you very little and it's the cheapest insurance against the one mistake that's genuinely hard to undo.
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