How to know where my city is in the Real Estate Market Cycle?

[Casie Nicholson]

Hi BP community- I am going through the Ultimate Beginners Guide and am very interested in understanding the market cycle to know when is a good time to buy and hold. If I am new to the real estate scene, what is a good resource for me to learn where my city (Baton Rouge) is in the cycle without previous context? Piggy back question...how much does this matter...is a good deal a good deal regardless of where you are in the cycle?

Thanks!

[Amy Verges]

Hi @Casie Nicholson!  I was born & raised in Baton Rouge and have several investment properties here. In terms of buy & hold, I’m in the belief (at least for BR) that as long as you buy right, it doesn’t matter where we are in the “market cycle.” Baton Rouge is a very stable market compared to a lot of other areas in the country. We don’t have huge ups & downs like a lot of other markets.

That being said, I’m very conservative when buying: at least 15% return, good neighborhoods, no high risk flood zones, etc. I feel like if it meets all of my criteria, it’s going to be a good deal regardless of the “cycle” and that has been proven correct (so far 🤞🏼). 

I would highly recommend checking out two things that'll help you learn even more: the TRENDS Seminar on May 2nd at L'Auberge (this is a great seminar with speakers specifically talking about the real estate trends in BR) and the Baton Rouge REIA called RING (Real estate Investors Networking Group), which meets the 2nd Tuesday evening of every month. It's a great opportunity to network with other local investors. I've learned a ton from both of these. If you'd like, you can PM me your email address and I'll forward you the info emails on these.

Hope that helps! Good luck getting started!