Any tips to narrow down market?

[Zeb Duncan]

Every time I think I have my market narrowed down, I find another. I am in California and plan on investing out of state. I'm mainly searching in the 100k to 200k range for my first property. I know what I'm looking for, and seemingly find it all over. Being able to tap into an experienced team of agent, property manager and contractor would probably make the decision a bit easier but I'm sure I can find that many places as well. Any tips on how to.narrow it down or should I just stop looking at so many places and focus on one?

[Brenden Mitchum]

Hey @Zeb Duncan, welcome to the BP community!

Ah yes, market choice paralysis. The simple answer is just pick one. You're better off jumping into a market and the process of building a team vs. trying to find the "perfect" market. Now, you do want to do a bit of research upfront, especially when capital is limited. However, there is no "perfect" market. 

It sounds like you already have several markets in mind. If you want to do this a bit more scientifically, you can quickly compare them on several metrics, then pick the best. Just make sure it still meets your capital requirement. Here are some typical metrics that many investors use:

1. Population over 100k

2. Year-over-year (YOY) population growth

3. YOY median household income

4. YOY job growth

5. YOY median home value

6. Crime index (& its delta)

If you're not already aware, there are plenty of good sites to do your research, like data.usa, city-data, area vibes, neighborhood scout, best places, etc. A great paid (but affordable) tool is market nomad.

Hope this helps a bit! Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!