The Perfect Apartment Unit Mix

The most common apartment investor request is for a building with a predominance of two bedroom units. Don't show them a building of 1 bedrooms and, the horror, a building of studios. I'm going to step out on a limb here - I love studios and 1's. One bedrooms tend to have overall low occupancies. This is important when the landlord pays for water, garbage, etc. Realistically less toilet flushes (ok, sorry, but true) which means less plumber calls and lower utility bills. Studios are even more so this way. If I was in need of crashing at a friends apartment, I would choose the friend with the most ample space. Reasonable? Or I could definitely be swayed by location.... sure. Something to think about.

Residential Stats Santa Clara County

More divergance - listings are increasing while escrows are dropping off. This continued pressure in the middle of the buying season will cool off prices overall. Again - not in the hot areas - although definitely in central San Jose and east.

Investing in Phoenix - Low Unemployment

From US Bank Economic Update - Low unemployment and strong job growth in the Phoenix Metro. It's all about jobs. Think Silicon Valley - housing is strong due to job growth. In Phoenix, the same rule applies. 3.9% unemployment. 4.3% job growth over last year. More importantly, construction jobs did not take a huge percentage of this growth. Growth was in the best areas - business and professional services. Housing prices have slumped in that market, though, with strong job growth, that will change.