Questions for a Beginner and Indicators to Use

[Andres Felipe Aristizabal]

Hi BP community!

Had two questions pertaining to % owner occupancy and median income when looking at a market. The first is the % of owner occupants, and wanted to know what exactly a low % of owner occupants in market is supposed to signify. I'm sure it could mean various things, but would that mean that perhaps the people in that market (when looking at it in conjunction to median income) can't quite afford to buy a house? Perhaps it means that they rent more? I have heard that a higher % of owner occupancy was a good thing and I figured that it meant that if you were to find potential tenants for your property they would tend to stay and longer and perhaps treat the property as their own home (meaning that they would take more care of it as opposed to let's say a rental/apartment). Now that was just my take on it but what would a higher % of owner occupants signify/what could it signify?

As for median income I know that there are some that look at it as one of the indicators they would use when determining where they would like to invest, and I realize that a higher median income would give people the opportunity to be able to afford more/rent/etc. I also know that median income varies, my question has to do more so with the average price of homes in an area in relation to the median income. Should I be looking at places that have incomes that are smaller perhaps than a certain % of the average home price because it could signify that those in the area wouldn't be as capable of purchasing a home? I'd love to hear any thoughts you guys might have pertaining to either of the two that I mentioned. That and what you guys tend to use as general indicators, I've been looking primarily at population & job growth, along with unemployment to lead me to several markets.

If you managed to read all that thank you, and if you comment double thank you in advance!

Andres

(P.S I'm also curious as to how you can tell when there is an over supply in a market when you're out of state apart from checking the forums, where do I find building permits and what would I compare the amount of permits issued to? Previous year? Thank you!)