Begin your real estate market research with the U.S. Census information about a town. You want to invest in a town that is growing, especially if you are investing in income properties. It’s easier to do this now, with all the information available online. Just go to the official U.S. Census site at www.census.gov.
If you call the chamber of commerce, or the local department of economic development, they may have a packet of statisics they can send you too, showing population figures, employment mix, and even more. These are a couple of the statistical tools and information that can help, but one of the easiest and most useful research tools, is talking to people who live there.
Talking is a great way to research an area you are not familiar with at all. I once called the Chamber of Commerce office of Deming, NM. In the course of our conversation, the chairman casually commented that the city was using up water quicker than the aquifer was being replenished. I also learned that they had no back-up plan in place. That was enough to scratch Deming off the list.
When you want to know more about a town, pick up the phone. Use any excuse to call anyone from a real estate agent to a resident. Ask questions about crime, whether the local government welcomes new businesses, what the weather is like there. Are houses sitting for sale for a long time, or do they go quickly? Where are the good or bad areas? What are the good or bad things about the town that a new person should be aware of?
Prior to moving to Tucson, Arizona, part of our real estate market research was to call people in potential towns to see if they owned a snow shovel. If they did, we crossed the town off our list. Two different places can both get 25 inches of snow per year, but in one it stays all winter, and in another it melts by noon. Our snow shovel question told us the truth behind the statistics.
That was just a personal thing with us, of course, but talking to people can tell you things that are more directly related to investing. In fact, a good local bar can be a great place to do your research once you are in a town. Patrons will tell you what big employers are about to move in or out of the town, how fast homes are selling, whether there are gangs, and much more items of interest.
Ask which areas are improving, and which aren’t. Listen for stories about loud or animal-infested areas. This kind of information is important, but hard to get from raw data. Of course, people do sometimes exaggerate, so try to verify what you hear if it sounds outlandish. Still, talking to people can be a great way to do real estate market research. Good luck!
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