Do You Build Apartments Where Many Others Are?

Is it WHAT you build? Or is it WHERE you build? 

 

After more than 30 years of working with real estate brokers, developers, and investors I still get answers coming from each of those directions. Some people are focused on location, while others look at the type of development, whether residential or commercial, ground-up or renovation, active or passive, and established vs. upstart.

 

This topic comes to mind upon reviewing the latest research showing which parts of the country have the most new apartment construction. The research is supposed to answer questions, but from my point of view, it raises them. We see that "the south", especially Texas and Georgia, are leaders within that region when it comes to gaining apartments. If you and your team are now looking for a development or purchase opportunity for apartments, how do you approach it?

 

There is no automatic formula for determining the best outcome. However, there is a way to determine the best path for the people or entity doing the "looking". If you have "done it before", you should have a pretty good idea of what is needed to "do it again". Your ability to "do it again" may be impacted by the location of the next venture. Maybe you are not familiar with the "new" location. In that case, someone with a better knowledge and more experience with the new location may be coming in with an advantage.

 

It may be easy to think that since Dallas, Austin, and Atlanta are showing significant growth in apartment development that those places are where the best opportunities are. In real estate, it should not be "easy" to think anything!

 

Maybe cities or areas with the least amount of new development are worth exploring, at least until you know WHY those cities have the least amount of development. If the reasons are something you and your team could overcome, you may be on to a very beneficial situation. If the reasons are something you and your team could NOT overcome, it helps to know that when looking into other locations, no matter what market trends may be.

 

Among the many things I have learned and pass along to my valued clients and students is that, quite often, the best decisions get made for you. 

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