Although one part of town may be hotter than another, a rising (or falling) tide moves all boats. Picking a better location within a market is something you should do — just like negotiating a better deal — but it's the overall market that dictates whether you get great or poor appreciation.
You shouldn't drill down to the ZIP level until you've evaluated and chosen a strong market at the Metro level, because ZIP "micro-markets" follow what's happening in the overall city-level market. Many investors think a hot micro-market in an otherwise flat or declining market is fine — it isn't. The ZIP will eventually equalize with its parent metro.
Micro-market analysis won't replace the accuracy and importance of looking primarily at the closest major city, but it adds insight into these very small sub-markets. On the new platform, the old separate Micro Maps and Micro Market Rankings are now geography levels inside the one Precision Market Tracker:
- Switch the Map to the County or ZIP level to see the micro-markets shaded best-to-worst.
- Open The Table at that level to rank the counties or ZIPs within your chosen metro.
Target the hottest pockets with a click — but always metro first, micro second.