One of the keys to low vacancies and good resident retention is capitalizing on market trends. However, exploiting market trends is contingent on actually knowing what those trends are. So, how do you find out what market trends are? Here are a few tips for digging into what's happening in the market.

Investigate Submarkets

A submarket is a smaller section of a market region, and when you're investing in residential properties, this is an absolutely crucial area of study. Submarkets, in this case, refer to the smaller areas that comprise different parts of an overall market. So, for example, if you lived in Chicago, the overall market would be Chicago itself, but the submarkets would be neighborhoods like the West Loop or South Side.

This is important because the trends that are most relevant to you are the ones that affect the submarket your property is located in. So if you take a closer look at your submarket and realize, for example, that its proximity to a university means it is popular for student housing, this gives you a concrete direction to consider what kind of residents will be easiest to promote and market to.

Visit Properties

This is another important, "analog" way to stay on top of your market. What, if any, new buildings and properties have come up? What is the availability like? What is the situation for older properties? If you've been tracking properties, have you seen any that tend to remain available on the market because no one seems interested? If that's the case, why are they not interested? It might merit a personal visit to these properties to inspect them yourself, or ask about rental prices to see why these properties have trouble attracting new residents, versus others that enjoy long resident retention.

Being sure to start small and do your homework on local properties readies you for success on the market. If you want to ensure your residential property investment venture is successful, contact Occupancy Solutions and let us help.