How many REIs are there anyways?

[Joshua Amezcua]

You know how once you decide to go all in and start doing something it feels like everyone is doing it? Maybe it's just because now I'm a part of this community and I'm completely absorbed and enamored by all of this, but it seems like the more I learn and the more I know what to look for it appears that there are thousands if not tens of thousands of investors in my market alone. Even just talking REI with colleagues and family now I'm shocked at how many of them are flipping, wholesaling, or landlording properties or at a minimum educating themselves and trying to find or make a good deal. In fact, I went door to door in my neighborhood "walking for dollars" and was shocked at how many of my neighbors said they get flyers, business cards, post cards, fake handwritten notes, etc…

Maybe I’m crazy and it’s not that high. How many small/independent real estate investors are there? Am I getting started too late? Maybe it’s just my market. We are willing to move if there are better markets with less competition anywhere in Texas or Nevada.

[Evan Polaski]

@Joshua Amezcua, it is not your market.  I would have to guess there are millions.  Social media influencers selling courses, HGTV making it seem like a flip is a simple way to make $100k in 3 months with no risk.  It gives the general public the optics that real estate is just quick money.  The ability to market yourself and your masterclass, with some decent marketing knowhow is very easy in today's world.

Add in realtors, wholesalers, syndicators, office and hotel and retail owners, the guy down the street that owns 5 rentals around town.

This is a highly saturated, hard to penetrate business to be in. I mean look at the number of people you see posting on these forums, then probably multiple it by 100+ for those that just lurk.  Or I went to meetup many years ago, about 40 people there.  Of those, I would say maybe 15 were ACTUAL investors and had done something.  Another 15+ were wholesalers just trying to find deals, 8-10 were agents that "cater to investors".  But this was just one small meetup in Cincinnati.  There are many others in my market alone.