market research and comparisons

[Hassan O.]

I am interested in investing in new to me multifamily markets in the US and have found a ton of data. 

I have a ton of criteria to look at and understand it. But the question is, after all this data gathering and summation, how best to compare all the data and against what standard or base? 

In other words, compared to what? How best to go about Comparing and contrasting multiple sets of market data to a standard market or submarket set?

Let's say that I am looking at the San Antonio Tx MSA, the Phoenix MSA, the Atlanta MSA and the Austin MSA, I can see the statistical differences, Cap rates, units, vacancies, pop demographics etc, but how does one succinctly  get to the "apples to apples" comparison level AND THEN COMPARE THAT TO WHAT (Other MSA's, submarkets, etc)? 

YES I UNDERSTAND that there is a personal preference factor and I should look locally as well. Thanks

[Mack Benson]

When selecting a market, we focus on 6 important criteria:

1. Job growth
2. Household growth
3. Construction permits
4. Demographics
5. Tenant laws
6. Strong government leadership

Great returns typically follow these 6 criteria.

Something I did while researching markets was to set up an excel grid to compare multiple markets and used a conditional formatting to show the strength of the market compared to the others. The overall grade was a little subjective because I had to weigh each of total criteria but having the conditional formatting was a good way to visualize things and present it to my partner. When I found one market outscored the others in almost every criteria it basically made up my mind for me.

The criteria I used was:

• Population
• Population growth (2010 to now)
• Unemployment
• Job Growth
• Vacancy Rate
• Household Size
• Tenant Laws ( do they favor the tenant or landlord)
• # of multifamily properties
• # of major employers
• Year on year rent increase/decrease
• Cap rate for each asset class you are looking for
• % of population renting
• Affordability of new home vs renting