How local are real estate markets?

[Ben Feder]

How local are real estate markets? Basically, how similar is a market in one neighborhood versus a city in general versus nationally, etc.? If the national real estate market is a hot sellerr's market, how likely would it be, for example, that the Philadelphia market would be similar, or a neighborhood within Philly? This is just an example, but you can get the point.

[Sheryl Sitman]

@Ben Feder it is really important to understand the micro market that you invest in because of course it is going to be different than the national trends and averages being talked about in the media. What happened during this last period in Cities like NY and San Francisco is totally different than what happened in Philadelphia. And within Philadelphia, what happens in University City is very different than what happens in E Germantown or Tacony . . . not to mention the surrounding suburbs in Montco, Bucks etc. City planning, development happening on a specific block, a new ordinance in a zip code, the sudden decision to eliminate STR -- so many factors come into play and you need to understand quite a bit about a market in order to make truly informed decisions (or rely on someone else who has already done the analysis and can tell you what fits your strategy/goals.