Analyzing a rental market

[Peter Mac]

I am new to real estate investing - but I've done a lot of reading, listening to those podcasts, and talking with people in the industry. I would like to ask for advice and if you have any pointers on where to look to / what to read when analyzing a rental market. I have a spreadsheet where I collect data on a few select cities. For example, one of the cities that I am looking at in Daytona Beach, FL. The spreadsheet would ask for:

Population: 63,011

Median household income: $28,164

# of households: 24,858

Owner-occupied: 14,123

Owner occupancy rate: 57%

# of people per home: 2.53

This is what I've just done to try to analyze this city to see if it's a good idea to jump on some rentals out here through creative real estate means. From looking at the above, what is your opinion on this city from a rental market perspective?

What would you include in your analysis?

If you have resources (links, books, blogs on BP), please link. Thank you!

[Nicholas Cook]

@Peter Mac While I think the research you have is useful, the best place to start is with evaluating your goals. A specific city such as Portland, Oregon (where I live) is great for some people and not for others. Once you identify what you are hoping to achieve it will be easier to evaluate locations.

Once you have a location or a few it is good to consider;

1. The vacancy rate 

2. Average rents and rent growth rate.

3. Major employers (is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is a landlord vulnerable to one industry's success?)

4. Appreciation rates.

5. Cost of maintenance as labor costs vary greatly across the U.S.

6. Demographics of the neighborhoods.

7. Cost of property management

8. ROI on purchase price based on potential rent.

I hope this helps. Good luck!