Real estate investors always have an eye out for what’s trending, what seems to be emerging in popularity as far as asset classes go, and most importantly, what is going to make money. This is what investing is all about after all, making prudent investments that will ultimately result in lucrative returns.
At Paradyme, we are always looking for those deals and contracts that not only net significant returns, but ones that make sense in the current world moment. COVID-19 was and continues to be a world moment like none we’ve ever seen. What constitutes a sound real estate investment now is vastly different from what may have been a decent investment pre-pandemic. This is why we’re undertaking a new large-scale project creating fourplexes within a housing market where demand is at record highs.
In this two-part series we examine the growing popularity of the fourplex and consequently look at why this asset class is such a good investment given the current climate.
The Affordability Factor
Housing demand, especially in a problematic economy, is largely predicated on affordability. Yes, people want amenities, they want family-friendly neighborhoods, and they want spaces that potentially give them room to grow, but what it comes down to during economic times such as this, is affordability. Offer affordability and amenities and great communities and room to grow and you’ve hit upon the golden ticket. Fourplexes are that golden ticket.
As professionals and families relocate from major urban hubs to more affordable secondary and tertiary cities, they are keeping an eye on rent prices in tandem with all of the above-mentioned factors. Fourplexes fit the bill perfectly. Minus the larger price tag of renting single family properties, they still manage to provide more of “house-like” feel versus living in a high rise for example.
Location Considerations
With this next big project, Paradyme was looking to target those up-and-coming locations that are gaining in residential popularity given this pandemic/post-pandemic environment. The Sun Belt is among the most popular, comprising nearly half of the country’s population growth over the past year. While certainly there are larger developments and high-rise projects going up within Sun Belt sectors, many of these areas lend themselves much better to smaller scale, multi-family developments.
There is a great deal to be said for the footprint (both vertical and horizontal) of a real estate project within the context of a given location. Fourplexes represent that sweet spot between single family housing and apartment buildings—truly offering the best of both worlds.
Construction/Design Shifts
COVID, among other shifts, brought about a change in the needs and expectations that renters have when it comes to the place they call “home.” Smaller, claustrophobic apartments lacking amenities just aren’t going to cut it in a world in which now many people are having to more intimately integrate work and life.
Spacious interiors, balconies and patios accessing exterior spaces thus helping bring the fresh air of the outdoors in, more storage/closet space, and homes that balance privacy with a communal feel are among not just the wish-lists but the expectations of COVID-weary renters. Again, fourplexes fit the bill and that is why they are emerging as premiere investments in a thriving renter’s market.
