Gentrification in Birmingham

[Alex Ng]

Hi im looking to invest in Birmingham Alabama. Im currently under contract for a multifam in East Lake. I heard East Lake is gentrifying. How long do you think it'll take for the neighborhood to gentrify? I drove around the area and a lot of houses still boarded up and its on a street by street basis. The multifam im buying on has some boarded up houses and some trash lying on the ground. What areas in Birmingham are gentrifying that I should invest in?

[Spencer Sutton]

Hey Alex,

East Lake is hit or miss, depending on the street. I know that some SFR in the area have sold for 200k+ and 10 years ago, that would have been insane. However, most of the areas that have not experienced gentrification in East Lake will still take a while...especially with a slowdown of the market and investors turning some of these properties around. It's best to go into your MF deal with the thought it could be another ten years before the area of East Lake you're in turns around. Best of luck!