Bus tours/Emerging Markets 16 posts by 7 users

Posted: 06/19/2008 at 03:44PM

Just wondering if any of you have been on any bus tours that focus on emerging markets. If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations. I'd like to learn more about locating emerging markets. What do you think the best way to learn is, a boot camp, books, classes?

Posted: 06/20/2008 at 11:55AM

Within the United States.

Posted: 06/20/2008 at 02:15PM

Talk to us a little more. What DO YOU mean by emerging markets? Why does this area interest you? Are you interested in speculative investing? Or steady income?

Please provide some more direction.

Posted: 06/20/2008 at 05:52PM

By emerging market I mean any area in the US that is up and coming. An area that will provide jobs, good schools, ect. I'd like to know how to find these areas before they grow, before companies move in. I know it's all speculative but there are people who succeed at this and I'd like to be in that category someday.

Posted: 06/20/2008 at 06:02PM

Avoid the realtors. Do your initial research online then drive into the town and start chatting with convenience store clerks about the area. Get the real lowdown about what's going on there

Good advice Tim,

The local people do know alot more than we think. Have you ever gone to town meetings? What specific things do you look for in a town you invest in? I have my ears peeled locally for a potential casino. Other than jobs what else draws renters to an area? Schools, hospitals???

Posted: 06/22/2008 at 03:45AM

Thanks Tim!

Posted: 06/25/2008 at 02:41PM

Heather -

For the most part the bus tours are in markets that " were emerging" ; save your dollar and do some research.

Population growth and economic expansion are a couple of the key features of emerging markets. Look for markets that have had some driver for population expansion that is recent (company relocation, etc). The Bureau of Labor Statistics makes it easy to track month to month changes in total nonfarm employment growth in a given market, as well as growth in what they call the supersectors - 11 more or less industry specific categories.

There's a lot more to consider, but simply looking at those two things will help you begin to sort markets out.

I agree with avoiding RE agents for the most part; we've had much more success talking to good commercial brokers in town about what's going on.

There's great potential right now in some of the emerging markets around the country, and will be even more as time passes......

Posted: 06/26/2008 at 08:09AM

Heather - the main caveat with the BLS job growth data is that there are some wild swings month to month that show up in the BLS data.

We've taken to tracking a 6 month rolling average on the advice of our statistical experts (to smooth out those bumps and to showing trending more accurately), it's easy to do in an excel ss when you're really trying to figure out what's cooking in a particular market.