Hello @Mathios Yonan,
It depends on what information you are looking for. If you are looking for general market information, there are many sources. If you are looking for information to select an investment location, I can help.
We developed a straightforward process for selecting investment properties for passive income. At each step, there are decision metrics that help you make the right choice. The process is comparable to peeling an onion, as illustrated below. It starts with the location.
The location, not the property, is the most important investment decision because it determines all the long-term income characteristics including:
- Whether rents will keep pace with inflation
- How long your income stream will last
- How reliable your income stream will be
The location selection process involves eliminating cities unlikely to provide the dependable passive income you need through a series of elimination filters. Each filter removes cities that do not meet a specific requirement. By the end of the process, you will have a few cities worth further consideration.
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Metro area population size greater than 1M. Small towns may rely too much on a single business or market segment. Wikipedia
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Both state and metro populations are increasing. Do not buy anywhere if the state or metro populations are static or decreasing. Wikipedia
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Low crime - High crime and long-term appreciation and rent growth are mutually exclusive. Do not invest in any city on Neighborhood Scouts’ list of the 100 most dangerous US cities.
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Inflation compensating - Every time you go to the store, the same basket of goods costs more and more dollars. In order to have the additional dollars needed to pay inflated prices, rents must rise faster than inflation. Therefore, a critical location selection metric is that rents and prices are rising faster than inflation. Rents tend to lag behind prices, so you can use the appreciation rate if you do not have historical rental data. Zillow Research
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Low operating cost - High operating costs can turn what appears to be a profitable property into a money pit. The three most apparent are income taxes, property taxes, and insurance. Insurance - ValuePenguin, Metro Property Taxes - LendingTree
- Low disaster risk - When a tornado or other natural disaster strikes a city, it doesn't just obliterate individual properties. The entire community, including jobs, shopping, and retail, is destroyed. Your tenants won't wait for your property to be rebuilt in a year or two; they'll move immediately to a location where they can work and live today. Even if your insurance company rebuilds your property, there may be no one to rent it. Everyone in the community will have resettled in other locations, and there's no reason for employers, retail establishments, or people to move back. Locations hit by natural disasters may take many years or never recover. However, your mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and other expenses will continue without interruption. The cost of homeowners insurance is the best indicator of the likelihood of a natural disaster in an area. Choose a location with low cost homeowners insurance because they have the lowest risk of natural disasters. Insurance - ValuePenguin
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Rent control - Some states and metro areas have implemented various kinds of rent control. Rent control may prevent you from increasing the rent fast enough to keep pace with inflation. It may limit your property manager's ability to select the best tenant. It may make evictions of non-performing tenants difficult or impossible. Never invest in any location with rent control.
At this point, you will have a small number of potential cities. The next step is to find a local investment team. Why is working with a local investment team critical?
Everything you learn from seminars, podcasts, books, and websites is general information. You will purchase a specific property in a specific location that is subject to specific local rental regulations. The only source of the hyperlocal information you need is a local investment team that has years of experience working with investors. Also, working with a local investment team costs no more than working with any other realtor so there is no disadvantage and every advantage to working with a local investment team.
Mathios, I hope this helps. If you have other questions, please DM me or posts and I will respond.
