MTR Market Data

[Justin Moy]

Looking to get into MTRs and don't have any currently. Are there any data sources you use to gauge demand? 

I pulled some reports from furnishedfinder and it's showing the 2 markets we are looking at (Castro valley, CA and North Kansas City MO) are in the top 1% of cities nationwide in their demand research. 

I also looked at the map and looked at the properties within the areas we're looking at and don't see any with current availability, all seem to be booked a few months out (2-4). 

What other research can and should we do before diving in?

[Bonnie Low]

I looked at the data on FF when I scoped out my area as well. I was surprised to see how much demand there was in terms of numbers of people searching my area. I then went to the FF website and put in some target dates to see how many places were available. I filtered it down to a unit the same size as mine (fully self contained 1/1), then further filtered by pet friendly because our accepts pets, then further filtered it based on amenities and decor. Turns out there was very little true competition and we've done remarkably well - better than I had anticipated. I've also raised rent twice since we started and we remain booked out comfortably in advance. Your amenities and decor MATTER in this niche. There are a lot of "granny" looking properties that don't stay booked unless they're dirt cheap and then the tenant quality tends to be sub-par. I don't advertise on on the OTAs so I'm not sure what those sites have to say about market potential, but digging deep into FF and being honest about what I was comparing my property to has paid off well for me. Good luck to you!