Observation and Wondering of Columbus Market

[Julie Philpott]

Hi everyone, 

As a first time out-of-state investor, I've heard buzz about promising neighborhoods in Columbus, like North Linden, Olde Towne East, and Franklin Park, known for their potential cash flow and appreciation. However, a quick glance at Zillow reveals some new or decent condition rental listings lingering for over 30 days. This raises a critical question: Is there a genuine rental demand in these areas, despite the city's ongoing efforts to enhance infrastructure? Understanding this dynamic could be key to making informed investment decisions

[Samuel Diouf]

There's huge demand here. Typically, when rentals have been on the market for that long here in Columbus, it's because they're asking too much for rent. 

A recent study showed that 80 people are moving to this city every week. 80 homes aren't being built here every week, so the demand continues to increase. 

[Kerlous Tadres]

Quote from @Julie Philpott:

Hi everyone, 

As a first time out-of-state investor, I've heard buzz about promising neighborhoods in Columbus, like North Linden, Olde Towne East, and Franklin Park, known for their potential cash flow and appreciation. However, a quick glance at Zillow reveals some new or decent condition rental listings lingering for over 30 days. This raises a critical question: Is there a genuine rental demand in these areas, despite the city's ongoing efforts to enhance infrastructure? Understanding this dynamic could be key to making informed investment decisions

Hey Julie, 

There is still a huge rental demand here. The biggest thing that you might not see is that some of these rental listings could be overpriced compared to rental comps. If you price it right and have the necessary qualifications to get the right tenants in place, you should have no issues!

[Remington Lyman]

Quote from @Julie Philpott:

Hi everyone, 

As a first time out-of-state investor, I've heard buzz about promising neighborhoods in Columbus, like North Linden, Olde Towne East, and Franklin Park, known for their potential cash flow and appreciation. However, a quick glance at Zillow reveals some new or decent condition rental listings lingering for over 30 days. This raises a critical question: Is there a genuine rental demand in these areas, despite the city's ongoing efforts to enhance infrastructure? Understanding this dynamic could be key to making informed investment decisions

I own rental properties in three very different areas in Columbus, Ohio, which I would classify as ranging from A to C areas. There is a strong demand for rentals in these neighborhoods as long as you have a quality product, a good leasing agent, and price your rentals correctly.

[Julie Philpott]

It seems that pricing is a major concern based on the feedback. If there are over 10 rental listings on the market for more than 30 days, could it be inferred that at least 10 landlords have mispriced their rentals for the entire neighborhood/area? For instance, a three-bedroom, one-bathroom property listed at $1,450 has been available for 37 days (zip code 43205) or a two-bed, two-bathroom property listed at $1,900. Another question is whether these properties are being repriced to their fair market value and how long it might take to find qualified tenants in this area.

[Patrick Drury]

@Julie Philpott
If rentals are not priced adequately for the location and condition they will take longer to rent. In terms of the condition maybe the landlord didn't add AC or went with LVP and carpet over hardwoods in an A location. Whereas all the rentals in the area have hardwoods and AC to get the same amount of rent. It could also be that you are looking at rent comps over a major street like Parsons and are using them to compare different locations. 

[Austin Steed]

Quote from @Julie Philpott:

Hi everyone, 

As a first time out-of-state investor, I've heard buzz about promising neighborhoods in Columbus, like North Linden, Olde Towne East, and Franklin Park, known for their potential cash flow and appreciation. However, a quick glance at Zillow reveals some new or decent condition rental listings lingering for over 30 days. This raises a critical question: Is there a genuine rental demand in these areas, despite the city's ongoing efforts to enhance infrastructure? Understanding this dynamic could be key to making informed investment decisions

I've owned rentals in columbus for about 6 years now and have always self managed. All these areas are renting fine. It depends on the product and sometimes the street your on. I personally don't like busy streets.  

After having some poor tenants over the years I'm much more picky with who I rent too. Vacancies are bad but having an eviction and an expensive turn is much worse! 

[Jimmy Lieu]

Quote from @Julie Philpott:

Hi everyone, 

As a first time out-of-state investor, I've heard buzz about promising neighborhoods in Columbus, like North Linden, Olde Towne East, and Franklin Park, known for their potential cash flow and appreciation. However, a quick glance at Zillow reveals some new or decent condition rental listings lingering for over 30 days. This raises a critical question: Is there a genuine rental demand in these areas, despite the city's ongoing efforts to enhance infrastructure? Understanding this dynamic could be key to making informed investment decisions

Hi Julie! As an investor here in Columbus OH myself, I would say there is genuine rental demand in these areas. As mentioned by the others, rent is one of the reasons why a rental can be on the market for too long. Another big reason is location. I generally advise my clients to skip properties that are near main street traffic or commercial buildings/stores. Happy to connect and answer any other questions you may have.

[Anthony L Amos Jr]

Quote from @Julie Philpott:

Hi everyone, 

As a first time out-of-state investor, I've heard buzz about promising neighborhoods in Columbus, like North Linden, Olde Towne East, and Franklin Park, known for their potential cash flow and appreciation. However, a quick glance at Zillow reveals some new or decent condition rental listings lingering for over 30 days. This raises a critical question: Is there a genuine rental demand in these areas, despite the city's ongoing efforts to enhance infrastructure? Understanding this dynamic could be key to making informed investment decisions

If you have a good product, good management, and priced accordingly, you should not have issues finding tenants. There are a lot of dynamics you cannot see from Zillow, such as what type of systems does those owners have in place, how strict are their qualifications, how the property shows in person, etc. The population is increasing in Columbus and a lot of people are sitting on the sidelines renting before buying, so there is demand.