How's the GR market doing for MFR/cashflow these days?

[Pete M.]

Hi all,

I grew up about 30 mins southeast of Grand Rapids, and have been away from the area for the last 16 years.  I still have a good friend in the Wyoming area, and I've thought about testing the waters with him to see if he'd be interested in partnering for real estate investing (obviously with him as the boots on the ground).  With that said, this is obviously all theoretical at this point, but I'm curious to know how GR is faring as a place of investment for primarily multi-family properties (2-4 unit residential or even apartment complexes) with a focus on cash flow.

Any insight is appreciated.

Thanks.

[Mark Krier]

Hi Pete, 

Some of the lowest vacancy rates in the country with an very affordable housing market makes Grand Rapids a very strong market for cashflow investing. Inventory is very low though, so it's not like quite like shooting fish in a barrel (like it was a few years ago).  For example, you can find stable duplexes in C areas that rent at $600-$800/unit for low to mid 100's, or $800-$900/unit for mid to high $100's.  Some quadplexes around too. Beyond 2-4 unit properties it gets a little more competitive with limited inventory, mostly traded off-market. Are you looking at 2-4 unit properties, or larger than that?