What are the signs of a good market

[Raina B.]

Hi all! I was driving around a neighborhood I am interested in investing in and I saw a lot of signs that said for rent and for sale. This is in Port Huron, MI is this a good or bad tell of that market?

[Joshua D.]

@Raina B.

The best indicator of a good market is high prices that are selling.  Aka demand.... I have been to port Huron mi before. Honestly can’t remember what it’s like though. 

Look for good job growth. 

[Troy Young]

Hi, I have a couple friends from NYC that are now investing in port Huron. I have been investing in Port Huron since 2009. Prices have went up a lot but there are still good deals. I also like that some big money is coming to town mainly in the down town and water front area. Some big things have already opened others just broke ground so I expect good things in the years to come in Port Huron.  

[Raina B.]

@Joshua D. I tried to look up Port Huron on citydata.com but that information was based on more so of the population. Where would you recommend I could find the information on job growth, besides the city’s website?

@Troy Young I’ve been seeing some projects on the river as well. I was told that there are some pretty rough spots with drugs are those changing over yet? Do you have any recommendations in getting started in this market?

[Troy Young]

As far as drugs, it is a problem, but it has also been a problem everywhere I've lived. A rough area here is different than a rough area in NYC. I lived in Brownsville Brooklyn and knew I could be killed and saw different people shot and people stabbed to death. I don't worry about that in port Huron. There is about 1 murder a year. I've bought different places where drug dealers were operating so I call the police and evict them. I try to get rid of the bad people and keep the good ones. There isn't any neighborhood I don't invest in but in general there further north you go or if you invest just outside the city limits in any direction the areas are better. But, you pay more to buy in the better areas and cash flow less. Downtown has some good things going on and some of the cheapest places are a block to 5 blocks away from downtown. So they are still in the bad areas but cheap, good cash flow, and a lot of potential as the downtown is built up. If you have more money and don't care about cashflow as much or don't have a good manager look for the North end of Port Huron or just outside the city limits for less work and headaches for you or your manager.