INVESTORS’ CORNER: America Migrates South: Why the Greater Charlotte Area Will Continue to Grow at a Phenomenal Pace part 2 of 2

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This article is continued from my previously published “Part 1”, and draws heavily on the concepts and analysis of Big Shifts Ahead: Demographic Clarity For Business by John Burns & Chris Porter.

You may ask “how does all of this affect us as real estate investors.” On the surface, it may appear that you should concentrate your investing efforts in the southernmost states in surban™ areas. Then you should sell or rent products to younger generations with families or retirees downsizing.  I would say this strategy makes a lot of sense, and it actually fits my own strategy in the thriving Upstate of South Carolina.

Remember that builders are likely to read these same trends and concentrate their resources in the high-growth areas. New construction gluts often creates oversupply, as it did in many areas by 2007. The bottom line is that you can find supply and demand imbalances anywhere on a micro-level. Finding these imbalances is a big part of my guide to choosing an investing market.

And as a small, nimble investor in the southern states or any hot area, you can often pick off smaller opportunities that the big fish (national builders and investment companies) overlook. Just focus on buying properties with good numbers in quality suburban or urban locations.  And continually build your fundamentals for finding good deals. The results will take care of themselves.

Conclusion

This excellent book has certainly influenced my thinking. I feel better that investing in a southern state in suburban locations for the long-term has good fundamentals. I already personally liked surban™ style locations (it must be the almost-1980s-Sharer in me!). But I now place equal value on them as an investor.

And I’m going to continue to be cautious about properties and markets in more rural locations. Perhaps more clearly than anything, the statistics showed that most people want either urban or suburban locations. So, I plan to continue putting my money where people want to live.

And I only scratched the surface of the overall trends in the book. Other major trends include an influx of affluent immigrants, ever-increasing economic influence of women, and a massive number of retirees. So, check out the book to learn more about the changes underway.

Chad Carson is a member of Metrolina REIA (metrolinareia.org), which provides education, networking, and networking for real estate investing in the Charlotte region.  Chad also writes about real estate, money, and life at coachcarson.com.