Market Identification and Analysis

[Ian McDonald]

Hello, I'm looking for any good information, software, websites, etc that specialize in market analysis. We are looking to identify strong secondary and tertiary markets for finding our next deal over 100 units. I've got a good start, but would rather not reinvent the wheel when there is so many tools that already exist. Regards, Ian McDonald Northern Star Real Estate LLC

[Tyler Kastelberg]

@Ian McDonald

The high-quality market data insight is very expensive, and the free market research sources are quite low quality. If you have a relationship with a firm who has a Costar, REIS, or Real Capital Analytics membership, they'll be able to give you accurate detailed market information. However, I like the following free resources:

1) US Census: Check out population trends to get an idea of growing MSAs

2) Trulia Crime Map: Great visual resource to locate high-crime neighborhoods

3) Apartments.com: Helpful when looking for rent comps -- Costar uses the same data-set in its research

4) National Apartment Association: NAA's annual operating income & expense report provides high level data that can be used with a "quick calc." Their paid reports provide market-level detail.