Advice for a New Investor entering this Sizzling Market

[Chris West]

As an investor who is aiming to acquire my first property by the end of the year, I am currently performing analysis to select an out-of-state market. Based on my research, every area that I'm looking to invest in appears to be "red-hot". There appears to be a lot of factors that are currently (and have been) contributing to the high demand for houses and the lack of inventory, such as rock bottom interest rates, the pandemic encouraging people to move from the cities and purchase homes, etc. With all that said, I personally believe that some of the factors that have led to the high demand will start to not be as favorable, as interest rates (and mortgage rates) have already begun to rise (and I think they will continue to rise) and the rollout of the covid-19 vaccine could potentially at least decrease the amount of teleworking as people return to the office. Keeping in mind that every market is different and there are creative ways to buy properties for below market value, I was curious what the seasoned investor thinks about the current macro picture and how/if that is influencing your buying decisions currently? 

Although I'm anxious to buy my first property, it seems like a good time to continue educate myself, and maybe it's not a bad thing to educate and really learn a market until the winter, when (and if) the market cools off a bit. Appreciate any thoughts on this. Thanks!