FlyerinHI, I have no desire to ever spend an extended amount of time in either Vegas or Phoenix. I do not handle heat well and I dislike both of those so-called “cities” intensely. Jury is still out on Texas; I haven’t been there enough. Maybe also Tucson.
And why bother when there are FNMA foreclosures in NJ/PA (including near a nice college town where I went to school) that rent at 8-10% cap in acceptable areas?
Also still 1/1 condos that do 7-8% cap in San Diego, and rent very quickly to single people or students.
To be clear, the ONLY way Phoenix would interest me would be if an especially good deal came along that I could flip for 1.25-1.5x purchase price with minimal work. I could deal with spending a month in Hell if it netted me a quick return and I didn’t have to deal with coming back to rent the thing and deal /w tenant issues.
NYC vacancy rate: under 2%
SD vacancy rate: 5%
Vacancy rate in areas of NJ/PA where I’m looking: 5-10%
Vegas vacancy rate: 13%
Phoenix vacancy rate: 20%
More vacancy means more chance of finding tenants who are “jumpers” — exploit the property for all it’s worth for the 3 months it takes to evict, then move on to the next sucker landlord.
