Best Apps for Analyzing Real Estate Markets: Share Your Experience!

[Liam Alvarez]

Hello BiggerPockets Community,

I’m in the process of finding the best tools to analyze potential investment markets, and I’m looking for some seasoned insights! I know apps like AirDNA are popular for assessing short-term rental data, but I’d love to hear what other tools or platforms you all use to evaluate markets and find promising investment properties.

Questions for You:

• What apps or resources do you recommend for analyzing real estate markets and identifying strong investment opportunities?

• How have these tools helped you in your investment decision-making process?

• Are there any specific features or data points in these apps that you find most valuable?

I’m especially interested in finding a tool that provides comprehensive data for both short-term and long-term rental analysis, along with market trends and financial forecasts.

Your feedback would be incredibly helpful as I narrow down my options and choose the best app for my investment journey. Looking forward to learning from your experiences and getting some valuable recommendations!

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge!

Best,

Liam

[Arn Cenedella]

@Liam Alvarez

I’ll be a contrarian here.

After 46 years in the industry, both as a SFR broker & investor and now as a MF operator with over 1000 units as a general partner…..

The best market to invest in is the market YOU KNOW BEST.

(I don't do STR deals so my comments are more about long term buy and hold residential RE.)

Data by its nature is historical - it’s a lagging indicator.
4 years ago the Southeast was the place to be. Now it’s probably the Midwest,

But my the time you get to the Midwest and establish a footprint and “street credibility” with the brokers and sellers another market may be strong.

If you are going to invest out of area, you will need to spend “face to face” “boots on the ground time” there. So pick a market that is easily and readily accessible to you. If your chosen market requires 2 or 3 flights with layovers, you probably won’t have the time or desire to get on the ground as often as you like. Pick an area that is within a 2 hour drive or a 3 hour nonstop plane flight.

Get in that market and really learn it neighborhood by neighborhood block by block.

Local market knowledge is every investor’s competitive advantage.

I do MF deals in Greenville SC where I live and already own 400 doors. I know the market from first hand experience.

Dallas Ft Worth is a fabulous market, all the data says so. But I won’t do to DFW because I don’t know the market and the players like people who have invested 10 years there. The brokers there have their buyer pool there. The only way I would ever win a MF deal in DFW would be to overpay - I wouldn’t understand the sub market like the locals do.

Pick one or two markets you can get to easily. Drill down in those markets.

Hope this makes some sense.

Arn