Tips on market research?

[Justin Lewis]

What are some simple daily things to do to continually do market research ?

[Joe Villeneuve]

I focus on the numbers...the ones that really mean something to an investor...not a homeowner/tenant.  For instance, I don't research the typical economic factors like growth, freeways, shopping nearby, population, etc...  Are they important?  Yes.  So why don't I follow them?

Here's why. I let the numbers tell me if they are important to the people buying/renting there. The numbers I speak of are the ones with "$$$" in front. Higher rents, higher ARV's, higher AP's, higher cash flow and profit potential on spreads are the numbers that matter most to me. Those numbers, are the buyers/tenants telling me if and how important the rest of those numbers are to them...and that's all the really matters.

If you are buying commercial, depending on the type, those other numbers will matter.  When buying residential, they are impossible to interpret.  An example would be a connection between businesses increasing and that impacting population growth in the area.  Which comes first?  Does it matter?  Do people live in the same area...even the same city...as the work in?

Schools.  Are they important?  Yes.  However, many of the best school districts have cost to buy out of the range of most buyers.  If you focus on that, you are eliminating a large portion of your renters...and if your renters are single,...?