Watertown, NY
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Top 5 reasons to invest in Watertown, NY
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Key Stats
About
Watertown, NY, located near the Canadian border, is one of New York State’s smaller metro areas. Still, it provides many reasons to invest there, including a booming economy, high tourism rates, and a low cost of living.
The population in Watertown is low at 117,445, but there are still plenty of opportunities for investors. The population is growing at a rate of 0.16% per year.
The median rent in Watertown is $1,384, a 5.5% change from last year, and well below the national average. This gives residents somewhere affordable to live in a state known for its higher cost of living.
Home prices are not only affordable, with a median price of $198,422, but also stable, with a 6.1% change from last year. The area also has a 0.7%, which is good for today's economy and indicates a stable real estate market.
The median income in Watertown is $62,782, and the main industries here include trade, transportation, utilities, education, health services, and government. The unemployment rate is 5.6%. Some of Watertown’s largest employers are military base Fort Drum, regional offices for the New York State government, and Samaritan Medical Center.
The median age of Watertown residents is 34.4. Nearly half of the 46,815 households in Watertown are rentals. However, the vacancy rate is 24%, so there will be competition for tenants.
The area has a mixture of single-family (62%) and multifamily homes (25%). This variety gives investors flexibility in filling their real estate portfolios to meet their investment strategies best. With an average household size of 2.4 members, investors can choose small or large properties to invest in and cater to the area's tenant pool.
Investors also have the option to consider short-term rentals. Watertown allows short-term rentals (30 days or less) of the entire property, or you can rent out rooms. However, the limit is renting a maximum of two rooms to separate tenants at a time. This allows investors to take advantage of the area's tourism market, thanks to its proximity to Lake Ontario and the Canadian border.
Watertown is a great market to diversify your real estate portfolio. Its lower housing prices allow investors to tap into another real estate market with cash flow potential similar to larger cities.