Determining accurate rent projections for deal analysis...

[Brian Dolbeare]

Hi all, I'm relatively new to real estate investing and I'm struggling with determining accurate market rents in larger markets, like Pittsburgh. I've looked at tools like Rentometer and Zillow, but the rent estimates are all over the place. I've also checked MLS listings and Facebook Marketplace, but there still seems to be a ton of variability in rent prices. How do you confidently project rents when evaluating deals in these types of markets? Are there specific tools or methods you rely on to get more accurate estimates? Any advice would be appreciated!

[Evan Polaski]

@Brian Dolbeare, there will always be a lot of variability in markets.  Let's assume you are looking at 2 bed, 1 bath units within 2-4 unit properties.  

What is the size of the unit?  What is the sq ft?  Is it on a main road or side street?  Is it feeding into the 5/5 school versus the one 2 blocks away that feeds into the 2/5 school?  What are the finishes/age of the property?  Does one include heat and water versus the other that is separately metered?  

I do look at Zillow a lot in my market.  I don't use the rent zestimate for the property itself, I look at neighboring properties that are actively for rent.  I look how long they have been listed.

The MLS rentals would also be another option, but I believe each market seems to have its "go-to" service, i.e. Cincinnati, from my experiences in SFR and duplexes, Zillow is the only place I list and where I look. I have read from others on these forums they use Marketplace and/or Craigslist. In my experience within my market, Craigslist is effectively full of scam listings.