Real estate trends are an interesting thing to me. In a way, you could say that Christina and I have been bucking trends since we started flipping houses. After all, when the housing bubble burst and everyone was saying that you couldn’t make money in real estate, we started a real estate investing business. As a result, instead of looking for new jobs or trying to learn a whole new field, we became financially free, and since then we’ve been helping a lot of other people achieve the same financial freedom.
So, while you shouldn’t always follow the latest trends in real estate, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on them. You never know when a new market might open up to you, and you don’t want to miss it when opportunity arises.
Nationwide Urbanization
If you’ve always focused your buying and selling on the suburbs, you might want to think again. While suburban sales for flip houses are still great, a lot of people of all ages are moving closer to city centers so that they can be close to work, play, nightlife, culture, and more. Keep an eye out for foreclosed condos, as well as apartment buildings that could use some love and might make great flip properties.
But Not Everyone Is Moving to the City
At the same time, millennials are growing up and having families, and a lot of them are moving with their families to the suburbs. Studies have shown that we can expect another suburban boom within the next few years as these families start buying homes in neighborhoods with more space and better school districts.
Residential Real Estate Will Outperform Most Retail Spaces
As you start flipping houses and getting more experience with real estate investing, you might be tempted to branch out to commercial real estate. Retail spaces are particularly tempting for a lot of investors, but these properties are still showing a lot of stress right now. While the economy is improving, interest rates are still rising, which means that using credit cards is more expensive than it was a few years ago. That means that people are going to be more prudent about spending their money, and retail commercial real estate could continue to be a risky business.
Keep an Eye on “Second-Tier” Cities
If you’re looking for new markets to invest in, you’re probably going to immediately start looking at big cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and their surrounding suburbs. The better bet might be to start looking at some “second-tier” cities—cities that are large and popular but not quite as large and well known as these. Some great second-tier markets include Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, as well as Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. These cities are growing in popularity, and they have some great market values on distressed homes.
Continued High Demand for Rental Properties
Finally, if you’ve been flipping for a while and you’re thinking about investing in a fix-and-hold property or two, now is probably the time to do it. Homeownership across the US has dropped by about 7% in the last few years, and the demand for rental properties is up across the country. Connecting with the right property management firm could help you supplement your house flipping income with rental income.
Keep these trends in mind as you look for the best markets and properties to fix and flip or fix and hold real estate. You have a lot of opportunities to make a substantial amount of money and to gain more financial freedom, so stay up to date on the latest trends and how they might affect your house flipping business.
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