Real Estate Market Fundamentals: Demographics

Many variables will influence your property investment decision when considering your options. Demographics is just one, but it has a critical role in adding value to your property portfolio through making good choices. Learn more about how demographics will influence your investment decision

Demographic Factors Affecting Real Estate

Real estate demographics data are quantifiable data that analytically describe a community. A study of demographics will include age bracket, income, crime risk, school quality, employment opportunities, and population growth, all of which will impact your investment and the returns you can achieve.

Research the Real Estate Demographics Before Investing

Demographics are critical to your investment research before buying real estate because they are the next best thing to a crystal ball when predicting the future value of real estate investments in an area. For example, a location with a decreasing or increasing population is a good predictor of the future market.

Another key demographic is the crime rate. This information will give you essential insights into your prospective rental pool and the possibility of increased rental costs such as maintenance.

While we would all prefer to live in a low-crime rate area, many new investors make the mistake of overlooking this essential real estate demographic. As such, they increase their risk exposure and their ability to improve their portfolio with capital gains.

Job Growth and Real Estate Values

Research into the job market of an area is another factor to consider. If there are no employers or none are hiring, then the location is less appealing as a place to live. You may find that you can not charge the rent levels you need to create a positive income stream.

Carefully examine the employment and income data for an area, and extend your search into the surrounding areas as well. Many people are prepared to sacrifice travel time for slightly cheaper rents if the commute is reasonable.

How Amenities Can Impact Real Estate Investments

Families will search for affordable places to live by balancing rental values against easy access to good quality schools for their children. An area that is local to good schools will generally improve the value of your investment and provide a greater pool of rental possibilities.

For example, Worcester, MA, is the second largest city in New England and provides an excellent example of how educational opportunities can be a critical factor influencing the quality of an area.

Many of the suburbs around Worcester have some of the nation’s worst performing schools, with a correspondingly disappointing result in the real estate values. However, one suburb, Westwood Hills, is an exception, as the schools have a solid rating. The local real estate also achieves higher median values than the surrounding areas.

Your research into real estate demographics should seek out these anomalies as they are often less well known to other investors and, therefore, less competitive to enter.

Rental Versus Owner-Occupied Demographics

The ratio of owner-occupier versus renters real estate demographic data is another indicator that can help you achieve more value in your real estate investments.

Owner-occupiers tend to take more pride in their property’s appearance, so streets with more owner-occupied homes tend to appear well looked after and more appealing. A house on a good-looking street will generally fetch a higher price than a street full of rental stock whose landlords put little value in the property’s general appearance.

As you can see, researching a prime real estate investment can be overwhelming to investors entering the market. Fortunately, you can ensure you purchase a well-positioned property by talking to the experts who are already successful real estate investors and can help you do the same.