Does anyone have experience investing in North West Arkansas??

Question

Hey guys, I'm looking for anybody who has experience investing in North West Arkansas (Bentonville, Rogers, Feyetteville).

I've been wanting to get in to single family rentals. However, I live in Grants Pass, Oregon. And housing prices over here are extremely high in comparison to the median income. In fact, an article just came out stating Grants Pass made the top 10 list for most unaffordable housing in the U.S.! With that said, rents here are way out of whack also.  Just the average 3bed 2bath house is 240K-275k plus. Renting for MAYBE just over $1,000 a month.

I have a job opportunity in Arkansas, and the market over there looks much more favorable then ours here in Oregon. I'm seeing housing at almost half the cost with somewhat comparable rents!

Does anyone have feedback to give on the matter??

All opinions are appreciated!

Ryan Blackstone · Answer

@Nolan D Frese. I am a local investor and agent in NWA. This area is very solid. We have a local BP Meetup and a REI meetup. This area is amazing. The gap between Average household income, and Cost of living is huge. If you are buying single family houses, there are several different strategies that the investors that I work for use. Such as, in Fayetteville, they will buy a house for $130,000 and rent the 3 beds out for $500 for each bedroom. Some of the best deals are off market. You can buy a $67,000 house in Fayetteville, put $40,000 and flip it for $180,000 or hold it for rent for $1,400. I work with a lot of out-of-state investors and can get you hooked up.

Steven Young · Answer

Hey Christian, I'm from Washington State and my wife is from California, but we moved to NWA about a year ago and we have absolutely loved it. We joke with friends that it's like a hidden gem because most people would never think to move to Arkansas (when we were telling friends and family we were moving out here we got some funny looks) but it's a great place to live. Like Nolan said, it can take some creativity to find good deals, but I believe there are a lot of them out here to be found if you do your work. We closed on a duplex that we are house-hacking a few months back and are looking for our next investment now. Another great thing about this area is that the cost of living is so much lower than most areas, so if you make a decent income you can have a very comfortable quality of life out here.

Sylvia B. · Answer

Generally speaking, those of us in the "fly-over states" are quite happy when those on the coasts ignore us.

Ryan Blackstone · Answer

@Velinda Savariego Melman What would you like to know? Prairie Grove is further from the metro area here, but it has seen a lot of appreciation. I don't think the rent raised have moved up as fast as the value of property.

Ashley Carr-Lewis · Answer

@Christian Huttema - I’m an investor as well as a local local (family has been here for over 150yrs). NWA was a hidden gem, especially during the recession. There was some suffering BUT due to Walmart’s low prices, business for suppliers were incredible. We couldn’t match those sales.

We continue to buy on market but have started to prefer buying off market. (Which has lead to wholesale and creative financing.)

It’s a great place and continues to grow with about 35 people moving in per day. Which still surprises me.

Excited for you to make your move! Keep us updated.

Ryan Blackstone · Answer

@Sabah Shah The market is still growing but it has really plateaued. I have not seen it go down in value, and don't see that happening. I do think more "deals" are coming on line as people recognize the banks aren't going to "help" forever, and people know we have kind of "hit the top" unless interest rates go back down.

Cameron Braig · Answer

Northwest Arkansas is a great growing market. Job diversification is starting to come. Population and rent growth have been doing so for a few years but a more diversified workforce shows a runway of opportunities.

Velinda Savariego Melman · Answer

Does anyone have any information on buy and hold in Prairie Grove Arkansas?

Nolan D Frese · Answer

@Christian Huttema the people are great and there is actually plenty of stuff to do, especially around Fayetteville and Bentonville. If you enjoy fishing, hiking, biking or pretty much anything in the outdoors then you definitely wont be bored. Its a great community and I've been pleasantly surprised by it.

Christian Huttema · Answer

Hey thanks Nolan!

I would love to grab a beer if I ever make my way over there! hahaha

So apparently Rogers is one of the fastest growing metro nations in the U.S.? And Feyetteville was ranked in the top 5 for best places to live in the nation as well! I just thought Arkansas was one of those fly over states in the Mid West. But the more research I do, the more I find out about how much people love living in this state.

I know its a little off topic. But how has living in Arkansas been for you? Do you enjoy the area and people?

Does anyone have experience investing in North West Arkansas??

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