Identifying Demand: A List of Questions For Realtors

[William Coet]

In trying to identify demand and become familiar with a new market, I thought I could email the top realtors in the area and ask a series of questions ( a survey) .  Below are a few of my initial ideas.  Any additional ideas for this fact-finding effort would be much appreciated!
This is a general outline of what I have:

"Hello,
I am into all segments of residential real estate (will consider commercial too).
I have a couple of questions for you.

1. Are there areas in the housing market where demand is not being met?

2. Are there areas in the housing market where you expect demand to increase and not be met?

3. Are there specific neighborhoods where you expect property values to appreciate more than others?"

[Lien Vuong]

I would not blindly just email agents those questions but rather schedule a call to make it more meaningful for you and use those questions as talking prompts. Another great thing is if you can identify specifically what your specific goals for returns would be and where in that market would you be able to find those returns. 

Often times I get a broad call and the investor just tell me they're looking for a deal that 'makes sense'. I cant take those calls too seriously because if they dont know what metrics they're working towards, how would I be able to identify it for you? 

Other questions to bring up: 

Where do you find vacancy specifically low and the area with the largest growth in rental rates? 

Is there an area of the city that you feel has the most developments and future growth?