Knowing the Market and Knowing the Business is a Key Step as a Successful Real Estate Investor
Many investors approach residential investing very carefully from the perspective of analyzing the information provided and often even asking other investors for their perspective. However, few spend much time analyzing and learning about the investment itself and about issues, information and data related to the project under consideration. The smart investor studies his field by following the best, picking up concepts to improve performance and looking for approaches to managing risk.
The good news for residential real estate is that information sources are readily available. Basic sources are industry books, magazines, blogs, professional networking sites like LinkedIn, websites like loopnet, articles, and research reports.
My perspective is that investors should follow several basic areas including project news, investor information, trend reports, process and operations information, white papers, etc.
Looking at key areas:
Some of my favorite sources about the project area include Multifamily News, the National Multifamily Housing Council, and local and national news sources like the Washington Post, USA Today, Reuters, Bloomberg, or the New York Times.
For investor information, the Wall Street Journal or Bloomberg are excellent sources of information. Also, Trump’s blog is also a good source. Rate information is provided by a variety of sites, including these as well.
For trends, many government sites and state government information help. My favorites are the Census Bureau, the Department of Commerce, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most of these have dot com or dot gov sites for you to follow. Other good documents are survey sites and related information.
There are many blogs with different followers. Some offer excellent information on topics like loans, investment structure, property management, leasing and marketing, and more. I really enjoy Multifamily Insiders and think Trump University is a great resource. In addition, some associations such as IREM, the National Council for Multifamily Housing and the offer a variety of reports, documents and other information.
Additionally, there are volumes of books on almost every aspect of residential housing.
Finally, the National Council on Multifamily Housing, the Harvard Center for Conjoined Housing Studies, and the major commercial housing brokers offer excellent housing studies each year, as well as studies on a variety of other topics. Among these various sources, the reader can get a real insight into housing trends, investment trends, cost of money, and other factors that significantly impact the best investment plans, such as who will be the tenants, how to improve your model investment and how to choose when. and where to invest.