How to evaluate a healthy rental market

[Stephen Moskowitz]

Hey all!!

I was trying to look into a particular neighborhood - Willowbrook/Westerleigh Staten Island NY and ran into trouble evaluating the renters market. - If I want to buy and hold there needs to be a healthy rental demand. - In the past in other neighborhoods I was shown really good deals by brokers and others but I had to find out through word of mouth that there was a glut of rentals and many remained empty. Only after I confronted the broker did she admit it was true.

What is the best way to work out the rental market there or elsewhere.

Thanks.

Stephen Moskowitz

[Roxanna Pifer]

I usually keep a search set up on Zillow and Trulia for my areas for rentals. I get an email when new listings are put on. It's easy to save those emails and go back to the older addresses and see how long they took to go off. You can also check Craigslist and see if there are a lot of rentals and if so see how long they've been posted. Perhaps not the most efficient way but once I got in the habit it doesn't take much time, just some surfing while I'm watching TV in the evening. This way I also notice if rents are trending up or down in areas I've been in for awhile so I know what to expect on my next turnover. I don't think that's the answer you were looking for but hopefully it's helpful.