For business owners looking to expand or start anew, knowing the real estate and construction demographics of an area will prove invaluable. Real estate demographics can illustrate how much new construction has taken place from year to year and enable you to analyze the housing market of an area compared to the rest of the nation.

By carefully analyzing real estate industry statistics, you can get a keen insight into your potential business market. Construction market statistics can give you insight into:

1. The growth potential of the area. If construction demographics show more people are moving in, it could be a great place for a new business.

2. The economic viability of the area. If residential real estate demographics include evidence that residents can afford to pay for new houses, it could be a good sign of the potential wealth of the area.

3. The availability of commercial real estate. It will increase your bargaining power if you know the commercial real estate demographics before you make your purchase.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use real estate demographics to research the population in an area

Before you start building in an area, use real estate and construction demographics to find out more about the people who live there. Vital demographics such as the area's median household income, the number of homeowners and the median age can shape the face of your construction project.

I recommend: The American Factfinder produced by the U.S. Census will give you a detailed fact sheet of a town or ZIP code. Also, software such as that offered by Zip-Codes.com will break down Census information even further and can give you information such as the payroll values for an area and the total businesses there.

Use real estate industry demographics to research the construction market in an area

Researching the health of the construction market in an area is just as important as researching the people there. By analyzing construction market statistics, you can see if an area is over or under-built and also what kind of businesses might be needed there.

I recommend: Construction employment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics can give you a good idea of the health of the construction market. When employment is good, so too, is the rest of the business. The National Association of Homebuilders has several reports on real estate industry statistics. Companies like Real Capital Analytics, for a fee, will let you use their powerful search engines to break down real estate market statistics in the area which you are most interested.

Find foreclosure data to give you insight about the real estate and construction demographics

The number of foreclosures in an area almost always directly impacts the area's demographics for real estate. If a market is saturated with foreclosures, typically the amount of new construction in that area falls. As those homes are absorbed by the market, new construction often picks up. Foreclosure data will give you a good insight into the area's potential.

I recommend: The Mortgage Bankers Association is a great place to find information on foreclosure rates and mortgage delinquencies. RealtyTrac keeps close tabs on national foreclosure rates and releases its information through press releases.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Finding real estate industry statistics should just be the starting point of your research into a potential market. Talk to the area's chamber of commerce to get more statistics and information that you will need.
• •  If you are very interested in commercial real estate market statistics, remember that the stats can change as quickly as the market trends in a particular area.