Is the rental market in Lansing over saturated?

[Timothy E Sullivan]

I am 24 years old and have one property under my belt, and I'm am looking to do another deal. A few of my friends went to Michigan State. I was looking at homes for sale around the MSU campus, and after talking to my dad who is a builder brought up a good question. Is the rental market around MSU campus over saturated? This got me thinking because I don't want to take my hard earned money and find out that it is in fact over saturated. 

     Thank you for your time!

      Tim

[David Hall]

Greetings Tim.  I am an investor and realtor in the Lansing and surrounding markets and feel I have a pretty good grasp on the East Lansing/MSU rental market being oversaturated.  The short answer is no.  Assuming enrollment stays steady, there is always a need for student housing.  The city is preferring students to be in student housing or apartments designed for students and are trying to reduce the number of rental licenses given for single-family homes.  There are still opportunities for rentals, but there are a lot of people with a lot of money willing to invest in a "college town" because they heard on a podcast somewhere it is a great idea.

My advice would be to invest in Lansing, just West of East Lansing, between the Capitol and campus.  Neighborhoods like the "East Side Neighborhood" have been appreciating big time.  They are also becoming very trendy as students move into older neighborhoods to be near that part of town with edgy bars and modern coffee shops.  The walkability in that area is increasing, rental rates are increasing and demand overall.  The beauty here is that you are not anchored to one demographic for renters.  Getting closer to downtown you could rent to students from LCC, MSU, nurses who work at the hospital or any of the workers who support the infrastructure around the down town area.  If either industry fails (or the student debt bubble pops) you'll still have a steady stream of tenants!