How to identify good areas to invest

[Pedro Cardoso]

Hello everyone, I recently moved to LA and I have zero familiarity with the region and its surroundings. What tools and resources can I use to get to know the areas a bit better and identify good areas for rental properties?  I have been driving around to get to know the different regions, but would also be great to know what resources I can use to see potential rent and valuation trends, etc.

[Jon Schwartz]

Originally posted by @Pedro Cardoso:

Hello everyone, I recently moved to LA and I have zero familiarity with the region and its surroundings. What tools and resources can I use to get to know the areas a bit better and identify good areas for rental properties?  I have been driving around to get to know the different regions, but would also be great to know what resources I can use to see potential rent and valuation trends, etc.

Pedro,

I make my own maps using an application called Tableau and data from the Census Bureau. I end up with maps that looks like this:

 In this map, colors represent current median income and arrows represent income growth over the last five years. As you can see, the coastal communities are very wealthy and growing. What I focus on is the redder areas next to green areas that also have big arrows.

Here's another:

 This one shows household formation over the last five years in downtown LA, which everybody knows has seen a huge amount of growth thanks to the countless new residential developments. What strikes me as fascinating is that the household formation extends down below the 10 freeway, to a small neighborhood called the 26th Street Historic Core, where prices are still very low. That's another area I'm zeroing in on.

All of this data is available for free at data.cenus.gov, and Tableau is also a free download at www.tableau.com.

As mentioned previously, it's important to work with a local agent who knows LA's submarkets well. LA isn't a market; it's a constellation of submarkets!

All the best,

Jon