Real Estate in South Central PA

[Account Closed]

Anyone in the forum have past or current experience in the South Central Pennyslvania markets?

I am brand new but trying to get an idea of local markets before my investing begins in the coming years. I am mostly looking at multis as I believe that type of property will be our first.

I have mostly been browsing zillow and realtor.com to see what options and prices are in Gettysburg, Hanover, York, and Harrisburg.

Any comments, advice, history on this local market?

Any general advice on analyzing a specific market?

[Kurt Barnhart]

Not to rain on your parade, but... 

I am from York, but now live in the west. The gentleman who mentioned “snail’s pace” appreciation was being kind. If you do some research, I think you can find other parts of country where appreciation and annual yields are significantly higher than in your local area. Could be an excuse to take deductable business trips to warmer climates a few times a year. But actually, you can buy debt and equity interests online via crowd funding sites, and never actually visit the properties you own (unless you really want to.)

Look at $10,000 invested in York, vs. somewhere like Nashville or Atlanta or Austin and determine how much you will yield over ten years. I love my home town but probably would not to want to own a rental there. I think that the house where I grew up in York has appreciated a few percentage points over many years. I have watched properties in the west and south triple in value in seven to ten years. 

No offense intended here, but central PA just does not seem to have expansion that you see elsewhere. And that’s probably the way you like it. Makes it a nicer place to live, right? But not the best place to see your equity grow.