Why Indianapolis
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Before the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 in March of 2020, I attended a local real estate investor meet-up where they discussed their future visit to Indianapolis. The leader of the group would bring a handful of interested investors on a tour of the city and meet with his team to potentially give these investors an opportunity to purchase rental properties. While COVID-19 suspended the monthly meet-ups, I reached out to an investor who played a major rule towards my investing journey. Days later, I discovered my cousin began investing in Indianapolis a few months before and already had a couple properties under his belt. Curiosity lingered and my head started spinning on why Indianapolis. Other markets definitely caught my attention during my research. Below is a small list of reasons why I chose Indy as my current market to invest in.
Diverse Job Market : Unlike the Hawaii market where we solely rely on tourism, Indy boasts a variety of industries such as logistics and distribution (Indy is nicknamed the crossroads of America for a reason), manufacturing, health care, technology, and tourism. Being in Hawaii, I am so oblivious to the Midwest but Indy ranks in the top 5 for AirBNB vacation rentals, top 2 in hosting conventions, hosts a variety of sporting events such as The Big 10 Tournament, The Final Four and of course the Indy500.
Increase in Population: Indy has seen a slow and steady increase in people moving into the city or surrounding areas for a number of reasons and is expected to grow in the coming years. According to IU, Indy’s population is expected to grow 26% by 2050. With an increase in jobs and solid Universities such as U of Indy, Butler University and IUPUI, Indy’s population should continue to trend in the right direction.
Low Entry Point : The Midwest is known as a cashflow market and unlike the coasts, it’s affordable costs of homes make it much more attractive than investing in markets such as California or Seattle. Also, with home prices being priced much lower than the coasts, prices to rehab properties are also affordable. Being in a cash flow market appealed to us the most with the goal of attempting to leave our W2 jobs sooner than later. We understand that being in a cash flow market could potentially result in our properties appreciating at a slower rate compared to owning a rental locally.
Boring: Yes, Indy is a very boring market for investors and there is nothing wrong with that. Indy is less volatile and is much more predictable when compared to other cities.
Genuine Partnerships: This is probably my favorite part of the Indy market. While building my core 4 (realtor/wholesaler, general contractor, property manager and lender), everyone was extremely nice and helpful--even if I didn’t use or mesh with them, each individual just wanted me to succeed so they would refer me to others. Also, the investor community in Indy has always been willing to navigate me in the right direction and has openly shared their knowledge with me. Their genuine support has enabled to me to invest an ocean and some mountains and corn fields apart while giving me the confidence and tools to get me started in the right direction.