How to get smart on new markets

[Julius Dixon]

Hey guys, what's your strategy on getting smart on different markets? What metrics to do you use to compare one market to the next, and what resources do you use to learn market news? All advice I hear is to specify a market and become an expert there, but I'm not sure how to gauge pros and cons of different areas in any meaningful way. Please share your thoughts. Thanks!

[Trevor Ewen]

@Julius Dixon

The real secret is you're not likely to find the best market. Instead, you'll likely end up finding a good one, or one that is good given your unique lifestyle, history, and abilities. 

As an example: In a universe where distance does not matter, we could objectively argue that Indianapolis is a better market than Sacramento: Higher cash flow, better tenant laws, lower taxes. For your case, that may not be true. It's possible you have friends, family, or local knowledge in Sacramento. It's also possible that being an hour and a half away is much more preferable for your investing style than a 4-5 hour flight.

I think people on the forum spend a lot of time trying to figure out what is objectively the best market. I would recommend you focus on where you have connections or some way to engage to a greater degree than others interested in the market. 

It's definitely true that some markets are un-objectively bad. But I am not sure it's as easy to argue which is objectively the best. Very context dependent, so I would start from there.