All Forum Posts by: Art Perkitny

@Nate Ginsberg, as @Erik Hatch suggested, the Census is a great resource for ascertaining this kind of information.

Here is a graphic I made showcasing the distribution of structures by unit counts in College Station, TX.

The graph on the right further breaks it down by showing renter and owner occupancy figures by the number of units in the structure.

Hope this helps! 

@Gualter Amarelo

The three cities listed defiantly seem like decent choices based on the data. 

As @Brian J Allen stated above, real estate is local and neighborhood selection is more important than city selection. 

Nonetheless, it's helpful to filter down the number of cities by looking at the data

Here is a resource I put together that I think you will find interesting. 

Its a spreadsheet that lists all incorporated places in MA with populations over 10k. For each place I have included population, home value and rent figures, as well as the 5 year change for each of these. The last column shows the rent to price ratio (1% rule). 

The color scale corresponds to the values for each respective metrics and indicated the desirability (green is better, red is worse)

Link to MA Cities Spreadsheet

@Ryan Judah

As others have stated, it's difficult to located properties that meet the 2% or even 1% rule in today's market unless they are located in riskier areas. 

Here are two graphics that showcase this phenomenon.

The darker values correspond with higher ratios. As you can see the areas with high rent to price ratios are outside the city or located in rougher areas.

Hope this helps! 

@Thomas Whittlesey

Here is a resource that may help you with your search

It's a spreadsheet that lists all the incorporated places over 10k in population contained within the East South Central and South Atlantic Divisions of the USA.

Cities in South Comparison Spreadsheet

I have ordered all the cities by median home values since you stated you are interested in properties under 100k

I have also included the rent to price ratio for each area as well as two metrics that correlate with gentrification (educational attainment and poverty rate)

Once you have filtered you search down to a few cities, I suggest looking into the sub markets for each of them. 

Hope this helps! 

@Nicholas Messinese, 

It's possible to compute the rental vacancy rate for various markets within the country by using data from the American Community Survey

The formula is as follows

Unfortunately it is not possible to calculate vacancy rates by aggregates such as bedrooms or price since the ACS does not provide the data needed. 

A market is said to be healthy if the vacancy rate is around 7%

health

Hey @Anna Windsor, it's difficult to say which MA city is best to invest in for you without more information. Mainly, are you looking for a cash flow, appreciation or hybrid investment.

Based on this determination it is easier to suggest locations to research.  

Nonetheless I have included a resource below that I put together. Its a spreadsheet that lists all incorporated places in MA with populations over 10k. For each place I have included population, home value and rent figures, as well as the 5 year change for each of these. The last column shows the rent to price ratio (1% rule). 

If you want more cashflow, I would optimize for the highest rent to price. If appreciation is what you're after then consider places with high population growth. 

The color scale corresponds to the values for each respective metrics and indicated the desirability (green is better, red is worse)  

Link to MA Cities Spreadsheet

Hope this helps! 

@Mario Am,

The raw data is from the American Community Survey (Annual Census) 

The visualization is generated via a project that I am currently working on

@Joe Ranieri

Where you buy will depend on how much leverage you intent on using. With 50k the max with a conventional 20% down would be 250k or 425k with 85k. 

The following map shows the median home values for all the neighborhoods in Philly 

If you are not interested in high cash flow, I suggest looking in one of the more expensive neighborhoods. Here you will find higher rates of appreciation and deal with a better class of tenant.  

Hope this helps! 

@Mario Am,

As @Curt Davis stated, the area has very little to no appreciation.

The data backs up this claim. Below is a graphic showing the change in median home values from 2014 to 2018 for the Census tract that is essentially coterminous with the area you outlined above. 

As you can see, the median home value has decreased 1.9k, indicating no meaningful movement in home prices.  

Rents have follow a similar pattern

All this to say, the area is definitely a cash flow play. If thats what you are going for then great, however if you are looking for appreciation as well, I suggest looking elsewhere.

Hope this helps! 

@Brandon Windecker

Based on the data, it seems that 35211 is a D/F as others have suggested.

The graphic below shows the grades for groups of blocks within the zip-code, which I computed by looking at a number of metrics. 

I have only include the northern park of 35211 since that is where you are considering investing. The areas south of Red Mountain Park that are part of the zip code are of much higher quality.