War Zones

[Brett K.]

I've been watching neighborhoods in my market and I have really good data going back to 1998. Since the mortgage debacle I've seen our inner-city neighborhood prices plunge. It used to be possible to pick a house up in the 20's (as in $20k) rehab it and sell it in the $70's. Since the crash I haven't seen any of that; rehab flipping evaporated. Prices are topping out in the $50's. There are a ton of cash transactions so I assume these are investors accustomed to operating in this area and they are scooping them up for rentals. I just updated some of my market data for this area and I'm seeing a turn in the market. Inventory is very tight and there are no properties listed as cheaply as they were just a few months ago. Prices at the low-end have nearly doubled in just a few months. I have yet to see the prices at the top, that is the $70k price range and up, emerge. Am I correct to assume this is going to happen soon? I'm looking at buying a property in the area but I don't want to be a long-term landlord. I'd like to have the option of selling. I'm also apprehensive about trying to operate in this market. It seems like a specialized niche.