A large part of using data effectively is utilizing it systematically and consistently. A lot of successful rental real estate investors make use of the Automated Valuation Method to gauge current home values. Zillow creates algorithms that calculate the estimated or “suggested price” of properties around the country. But certainly, you don’t have to be a real estate giant to leverage the data they collect and offer to the public. Platforms like Trulia and Realtor regularly create and share data from individual property histories to neighborhood trends and more. You can even use tools like mortgage payment calculators to aid your number-crunching to be faster and be more accurate.
Another method to get and use existing data in your real estate investing is to study foreclosure reports. Not only can you obtain correct information concerning property values in an area or even for an individual house, but you can also look at foreclosure reports over time for market patterns. If the newest report displays an abrupt spike in foreclosures, that could be a hint of economic trouble in that area.
You can, moreover, apply foreclosure reports to help you discover developing markets at the start of their growth phase, resulting in accelerated appreciation as the market strengthens. But still, it’s necessary to keep in mind that foreclosure reports are pictures of the past and not necessarily current market conditions. Although the info may be valuable indeed, it isn’t always the greatest place to see up-to-date market data.
With the limitations of foreclosure reports, it’s relevant to reference a wide range of sources in your data collection process. Besides government sources like the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Labor, you should additionally closely monitor local newspapers, county registers, and similar data sources. Separately and individually, these sources endow a part of the complete picture, which is then up to you to put together.
With all that data in hand, your next ideal action is to employ it to narrow your property search to a specific area or property type. Except if you do, you endanger wasting a good deal of time going in search of properties that will not add up to solid profits or looking at markets that are declining.
Putting to use the information obtained from websites, reports, the MLS, and local sources, you can more effectively determine probable properties for further analysis. This strategy handles data as a tactical tool to boost your investing ventures, in the same manner, as the big investors do it. In the long run, you may find that leveraging data the correct way will assist you to get more than you ever assume is achievable.
If that all sounds, apparently, too time-consuming, Real Property Management Excellence offers a free market rent analysis to get you started on your investment journey. Contact us online or call us at 919-827-1107.