All Forum Posts by: Ken M.

New Orleans is losing population. The city has shrunk by about 8% since 2020, and most metro parishes are also in decline.

Louisiana overall has been shrinking since 2021, dropping from 4.66 million to just under 4.6 million. There was a slight increase in 2024, but 2025 projections indicate that the decline is continuing.

But jobs are growing. The New Orleans metro area added over 5,000 jobs in the last year alone, with steady growth in healthcare, manufacturing, and government sectors. The statewide job market has now seen 49 straight months of year-over-year job gains.

In short: fewer people, more jobs. The population is drifting, especially from coastal and rural areas, but the job market is quietly heating up in urban hubs.

What’s Happening with Property Values in New Orleans?

New Orleans (City): Home prices are down about 3–4% over the past year. Inventory is high, homes are sitting longer, and buyers are gaining leverage.

Metro Area: Mixed results. Some parishes, like Jefferson and St. Charles, are seeing price increases, while others, like St. Tammany, are down. Overall metro prices are softening, and forecasts show possible 3–5% drops through late 2025.

Market Conditions: Slower sales, more listings, and more price cuts. Sellers must be realistic. Buyers have room to negotiate.

In short: Values are dipping, especially in the city. Some metro areas are holding, but the trend is cooling.

I m really loving AI as a tool and find it helpful in business and research. This is a great starting point for investors looking for a market.  For example, researching my market, Little Rock, it says:

🏘️ Little Rock, AR – SFR Investment Market Overview

🔹 Market Snapshot

• Median Home Price: ~$190,000 (well below national average)
• Median Rent (3BR SFR): ~$1,200–$1,450
• Rent-to-Price Ratio: ~0.7%–0.9% (higher in some zip codes)
• Cap Rate Potential: ~6%–9% (depending on neighborhood & condition)
• Vacancy Rate: ~5%–6%, lower in workforce housing neighborhoods

📈 Why Investors Like Little Rock

1. Strong Rent Yields
   • Home prices are low relative to rent, ideal for cash flow-focused investors.
   • Many zip codes in Little Rock exceed the 1% rent rule.
2. Landlord-Friendly Laws
   • Arkansas ranks among the most landlord-friendly states.
   • Quick eviction process, low regulatory friction.
3. Diverse Economy
   • Major employers include healthcare systems, state government, logistics hubs (FedEx, Amazon), and aerospace.
   • Home to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
4. Stable Tenant Base
   • High percentage of renters (estimated ~42–45% in Pulaski County).
   • Strong demand in B-class and workforce neighborhoods.
5. Underserved by Institutional Investors
   • Less competition than Sunbelt cities like Dallas or Charlotte.
   • Room for growth and acquisition before prices inflate further.

I agree and find the above accurate! When I search: What are the best investment markets for single family rentals? Data lists:

The best U.S. markets for single-family rental (SFR) investments in 2025 typically share a few key traits:

• Strong population and job growth
• Affordable home prices relative to rent
• Landlord-friendly laws
• Stable or rising rent demand

Here’s a breakdown of top-performing SFR markets, grouped by strategy:

🔁 Best Cash Flow Markets (High Rent-to-Price Ratio)

These markets offer low acquisition prices with strong rental returns.

1. Cleveland, OH
   • Low prices, steady rent demand
   • Good for BRRRR or long-term holds
2. Birmingham, AL
   • Landlord-friendly, affordable, 1%+ rent yields
   • Strong rehab and turnkey ecosystem
3. Indianapolis, IN
   • Solid infrastructure and job growth
   • Consistent investor performance
4. Memphis, TN
   • High cash flow, robust PM networks
   • Institutional interest, steady tenant demand
5. St. Louis, MO
   • Undervalued neighborhoods
   • Good rent stability and section 8 options

📈 Best Appreciation + Growth Markets

These have seen rising home values and job migration, ideal for long-term upside.

1. Charlotte, NC
   • Rapid growth, banking/tech hub
   • Low vacancy and increasing rents
2. Tampa, FL
   • Strong in-migration, no income tax
   • Airbnb and long-term options
3. Phoenix, AZ
   • Massive growth during COVID migration
   • Tight inventory, rising rents
4. Nashville, TN
   • Booming job market and rising population
   • Still has mid-tier housing prices
5. Raleigh-Durham, NC
   • Tech corridor, research & education
   • High tenant quality and low delinquency

🧱 Emerging / Hybrid Markets

Good mix of appreciation, rent growth, and cash flow.

1. Little Rock, AR
   • Affordable SFR stock
   • Good rent yields, growing investor interest
2. Columbia, SC
   • Stable government employment base
   • High rent-to-value ratio
3. Huntsville, AL
   • Rocket/military economy
   • Excellent long-term growth and landlord laws
4. Kansas City, MO
   • Balanced market with investor tools
   • Job growth and diverse economy
5. Jacksonville, FL
   • Port city, military, healthcare hub
   • High SFR demand and tax benefits

🚨 Caution Zones (Often Overheated or Low ROI)

• Austin, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• San Francisco Bay Area
• Seattle, WA
• New York City

These cities may have strong appreciation but generally low rental yields, high taxes, or tenant-unfriendly laws.

Anyone else using AI in their real estate business????  Any pro tips?

I've had a Carrot Investor website for over 2.5 years.  Back when I got it, organic search was supposed to be the 'magic bullet' in real estate motivated Seller lead generation.  I didn't purchase Carrot for that, but its clear that's what it was designed, marketed and sold to address.  While Carrot does some things well: 1. provide multi page platform for custom landing pages; 2 lead capture; 3. analytics, it is WOEFULLY inadequate as a platform to parse and tag leads and send them to outside tools for follow up calling. Let me explain.  From the Lead Manager Page in Carrot you CAN clearly delineate your active, follow up and dead leads...but here's the HUGE problem...YOU CAN'T FILTER LEADS AND EXPORT ONLY A PORTION OF YOUR LEADS from the Lead Manager or from the Content-Forms pathway (a real clunky and non intuitive approach in and of itself)...you only have choice to export ALL of them..that is you can't just export active leads..a huge problem that SHOULD have been addressed years ago but hasn't . Big design problem..WHY WOULD I WANT TO CALL DEAD LEADS??? Answer I dont. So there's the first HUGE design problem. 

There's no connectivity possibility with Carrot either..meaning there's no mechanism to communicate with your leads from Carrot...again a HUGE problem that makes this product painfully inadequate compared to other available tools.

A few months ago Carrot came up with their native CRM.  It's AWFUL. Not intuitive, user interface (the way you interact and move around in the software) may be the worst I've ever seen in software...seriously bad.  This 'so called CRM is supposed to allow you to parse and export selected leads...in my case it did not.  I could not isolate the 83 or so active leads I wanted to export even in this CRM. I reported this to customer support and the rep had NO IDEA how to fix the problem...

In my case, my landing pages are converting at a crazy high percentage (due to my ad targeting and the way I designed my capture pages..not necessarily from anything Carrot is or does).  It would be crazy for me to move these pages now and disrupt my funnel and have to get all my new pages re optimized (although I had a tech ready to do just that and I still may...

So if you're looking for a lead capture website, there are MUCH better alternatives available, one of the best being Go High Level which allows you to tag leads, export tagged leads to other tools, call, text, send follow up emails all from the Go High Level platform...and the basic plan is $99...way cheaper than Carrot with tons more capability (its a beast and has a learning curve, but GHL has equally robust live customer support to help you through that initial 'cuss filled' learning phase.  

It's not even debatable...Carrot has outlived its day...don't waste your time or your money.

For the first time in 6 years, the US housing inventory exceeds 1 million, according in Inman (June 2025). This signals a major shift from the low inventory, high competition market that has been seen since the start of the pandemic. 

More inventory = more opportunity for investors, however, regional dynamics and rates matter more than ever. 

Was wondering for those of y'all investing: are you changing your strategy now that inventory is rising? 

Skimming through this thread, it’s pretty clear that a lot of the responses were generated by ChatGPT. While some are helpful, I’d really like to hear more from actual investors and not a bot.

You can usually spot AI-generated replies by the consistent use of em dashes, bold or italicized phrases mid-sentence, and an overly polished tone. There are a few solid original replies here, but most follow that familiar GPT structure.

If you’ve got real-world experience or even just a strong opinion on this topic, I’d appreciate hearing your take and not a computer. Original thinking adds a lot more value than recycled phrasing... Just my 2 cents. 

Here’s the thread: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1248456-real-estate-investing-and-the-big-beautiful-bill-act#post_7055839

I’ve been diving deep into short-term rentals in Atlanta and have talked to a lot of hosts and investors lately. Some have systems that run like a dream — others, not so much.

For those of you who’ve been in the game, what’s something you wish you knew before you launched your first Airbnb or STR property?

Curious to hear your lessons — especially the ones that hurt but helped.

Hi, 

We have a seller in Alexandria, VA who breached contract and turned around to list with a realtor. We're considering filing an affidavit/notice of interest or memorandum, whichever is used most in state. Do local title companies honor these and require them paid off or do they often insure around the title cloud? Seen it fluctuate from state to state

Thanks! 

 This is 100% true. We always base arv from sold comps.