Top three markets you are researching?

[Ramsey Blankenship]

I recently moved from Panama City, Fl. to San Diego, Ca.   The real estate dynamic is completely different in Southern California so I am forcing myself to learn market research across the country. I am interested in the Top Three markets any of you are researching right now and why?  Here are my top three:

1.) Panama City, Fl. - Because I am familiar with the area and have a great team of agents, managers, cleaners, and contractors. Problem is, Panama City's market has grown exponentially over the past three years and deals are hard to come by (as I am sure is the case in most cities).

2.) Asheville, NC.  and surrounding areas - I simply love this city. One of my favorite places to visit, so therefor it is a place I would consider retiring. I have 8 years left in the Navy and want to hang up the flip flops and lace up my hiking boots. Asheville is another city that seems to have out priced itself however the surrounding areas have a decent amount of multi family homes. Asheville has a very large shortage of long term rentals, which is great for a landlord, however it has driven prices sky high any where near downtown. If I were to purchase in Asheville, I believe it would be in the surrounding area vs. downtown.

3.) Tucson, Az. - This is simply based on proximity to San Diego. Tucson seems to have ALOT of multi family and I have read articles that claim/prove that Tucson follows the Phoenix rental market. Phoenix has risen over the past three years and Tucson is showing signs of doing the same however the prices are still low. My concern with Tucson is the amount of MF I see for sale. This makes me wonder if vacancy rates are high and the Multi Family space is competitive. 

Essentially my top three are based on - A place I lived, a place I would like to live, and a place close to where I currently live. I am trying to break this mindset and invest in markets that make since financially, rather than proximity.  

Please participate in this conversation regardless of your experience, or even if you don't have three Markets.

Ramsey

[Jody Schnurrenberger]

While I can't vouch for the accuracy, when I'm interested in vacancy rates, I look at www.BestPlaces.net.  According to them, Tucson has a 12% vacancy rate (and 44% of the population as renters).  https://www.bestplaces.net/housing/city/arizona/tu...

Places I invest in or am interested in investing in include:

1.  Auburn, AL because it's my hometown, I'm familiar with it, the university probably isn't going anywhere, if you're patient, you can find a deal, during the real estate downturn, Auburn was one of only like 15 or so cities where the property values still went up (at least one year--there was an article about it lol), nearly 50% of the population are renters, and the list goes on.  I'm buying my 4th property next week.  :-D

2.  Raleigh, NC because it has multiple draws (state capital, part of the tech triangle, and NC State), home appreciation is up nearly 20 percent in the last 10 years (is that a plus or a minus...I'm not sure lol), renters make up almost 43% of the population and vacancy is only 9%.  Most importantly, I'm in Asheville and it's not too far away.  Crime is higher than I'd like, but it's not completely insane, just higher than the national average.  I've been told it's a really tough market and there is a lot of competition, so we will see how that goes.  It's also not the cheapest market I could find, but I'm going to give it a try.  I've found a couple of agents/PMs to interview, but I'm open to suggestions for both agents and property managers, if anyone has any.

3.  Fort Collins, CO is actually my  #1 choice, except for the distance from me (and to some extent, the cost).  Unemployment is only 3.3%.  Nearly 44% of the population rents and the vacancy rate is less than 4%.  Home appreciation is over 31%...again, is that good or bad?  It's also just beautiful there.  While property crime is slightly above average, the violent crime is significantly below average.  (And property crime in Ft. Collins is the lowest of the 3 locations.)  I just love Fort Collins.  Perhaps I'll move there one of these days.  :-)