Kansas City out of state investing

Kansas City out of state investing

Real Estate Agent · Member since 2018 · 90 posts · 25 votes

Hey BP. I'm looking at OOS investing in the Kansas City MO market and would love to connect with some folks who know the market well. I have a great RE Agent who I'm working with / partnering with which makes me feel very comfortable about being in the market since he knows it well and will be there during the process. We're looking at small multi-families, as low as a 4plex, up to a 12plex ideally.

But I've been reading a lot of mixed reviews. At first I read a lot of positive data, then I met an investor for St Louis who mentioned he's gone away from KC because it was a shrinking market. So then I started looking at some more data and found the projections from citydata and bestplaces.net were below country averages. The RE Market still seems to be going strong as rental rates and appreciation continue to rise, but wages, unemployment and job growth seem to be below country averages. 

I know at the end of the day a lot comes down to where you buy and at what price you buy at, but I'm curious to hear from those more experienced in out of state investing, as well as the KC market, if they believe in this area for the years to come.

Thanks!

0Reply
37 views

Investor-friendly agents in Kansas City, KS

See the agents BiggerPockets members work with in Kansas City, KS.

Most Popular Reply

Specialist · Yuba City, CA · Member since 2019 · 5 posts · 5 votes
7y

Hello Sean, I have been following the Kansas City market for a while now and recently closed on a duplex.  I think Kansas City has a robust local economy that isn't limited to one specific industry or company.  The economy has diversified and job growth has been phenomenal over the past few years.  Moreover, Kansas City still remains affordable for both renters and home buyers.  Rentals units in good areas of Kansas City have low vacancy and cash pretty well.  However, be weary of areas that look good on paper, but will break the bank when the tenant destroys a years worth of cash flow.  Many zip codes of Kansas City are street specific, so be careful of investing in the wrong street.  I worked with Wardell and Holmes, and would recommend them for out of state investors.  They are familiar with the market and will shield you from the bad areas.  There isn't a lot of larger multi-family properties for sale, however, you won't have any trouble finding duplexes or fourplexes.    

See this reply in the discussion

5 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Specialist · Yuba City, CA · Member since 2019 · 5 posts · 5 votes
    7y

    Hello Sean, I have been following the Kansas City market for a while now and recently closed on a duplex.  I think Kansas City has a robust local economy that isn't limited to one specific industry or company.  The economy has diversified and job growth has been phenomenal over the past few years.  Moreover, Kansas City still remains affordable for both renters and home buyers.  Rentals units in good areas of Kansas City have low vacancy and cash pretty well.  However, be weary of areas that look good on paper, but will break the bank when the tenant destroys a years worth of cash flow.  Many zip codes of Kansas City are street specific, so be careful of investing in the wrong street.  I worked with Wardell and Holmes, and would recommend them for out of state investors.  They are familiar with the market and will shield you from the bad areas.  There isn't a lot of larger multi-family properties for sale, however, you won't have any trouble finding duplexes or fourplexes.    

  • Mike D'ArrigoPro Member
    Turn key provider · San Jose, CA · Member since 2010 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

    @Sean Ade I'm not sure what kind of metrics you are looking at, but the 3 most important ones in my opinion are 1. population growth, 2. Job growth and 3. Incomes. When evaluated on the basis of these factors, Kansas City is strong. They have a growing population, growing jobs in diverse, modern industries, above average labor participation rate and good median household incomes. The best source for this data is the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau every month, not Citydata or Bestplaces.net. Personally, I think KC is a much stronger cash flow market than most of the Midwest markets, especially St Louise. The real estate market continues to be very strong. Median home prices are up 9.3% in 2019 YTD and there is currently only 2.3 months supply of inventory in the market. That is hardly the sign of a market having difficulty. 

  • Real Estate Agent · Member since 2018 · 90 posts · 25 votes
    7y

    Thank you both!! These both help confirm my thoughts that it is a strong place to invest heading into 2020! 

    @Mike D'Arrigo

    @Pinder Cheema

  • Clayton MobleyPro Member
    Birmingham, AL · Member since 2014 · 875 posts · 947 votes
    7y

    Major second to @Mike D'Arrigo! Try to use .gov level data sources whenever possible. Another good resource is FRED: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/

    I get tons of data from FRED and its great for comparative charting as well. Data is the No 1 most important thing in determining your best investment options, but sources matter big time!

  • Specialist · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2018 · 331 posts · 148 votes
    7y

    @sean ade I agree with @mike - KC is STRONG. 

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.