Texarkana Texas??Opinions on area for multifamily investing

[Jeff Banky]

Hello All....

I was wondering about the Texarkana region of Texas for investing in Multifamily property...I don't know the area and I was just wondering what the opinion is of the area....is it a dead zone or does it have potential for some future growth or at the least, a good place to invest for stable cash flow.

I spoke with some brokers today and I got two very different viewpoints...one guy flat out said it sucks and my money would be better spent elsewhere and another painted a rosy picture with lots of business and transportation going on in the area...I would love to get the opinion from people here on BP as I value my fellow investors in the area with boots on the ground.

I realize its not one of the hotter markets that is in the news all the time...I am looking for a good stable market that isn't dying and has potential for at least some future growth.....

thanks for the help

Jeff

[Fred Heller]

I grew up there and family still lives there. It's one of those "nice place to raise a family" towns. My take on it is it's a stable area, but don't expect a lot of appreciation. You're probably looking at $700 give or take for average rents.

There has been a lot of development along and north of I-30. I won't call it "growth" because it came at the expense of the older established retail areas. You'll find a lot of newer, pricier apartment buildings in this area. South of I-30 will be mostly older and more modest complexes.

The major employers in the area are exactly the same as when I went off to college in 1976, and that says something. We had Red River Army Depot, Cooper Tire plant, a couple of paper mills outside of town, and the Federal Pen.  Other major employers are the two hospitals, Walmart, and the school districts. As far as I know, nothing big and new has moved in during that time.

On the bright side, the city is halfway between Dallas and Little Rock, and a short drive to both. They recently finished I-49 from Shreveport, which will extend to Fort Smith and Kansas City eventually. It will also have a spur from I-69 the NAFTA superhighway, which will link Mexico and Canada. It will definitely be a crossroads then, but that's years away from completion.

Bottom line, in my opinion, is that you could probably pick up some good deals there and generate some cash flow. But if you're looking for growth, I would recommend Tyler/Longview or the Fort Smith/Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers corridor in NW Arkansas.