Business Geography - GEOG 352: November 2015

Introduction:
When it comes to selling and purchasing houses in a given area there are many factors. Often times knowing the area around the house in a given area is just as important as knowing the property itself. Realtors have to come up with a selling strategy most fitting for the given area and target buyers who fit that strategy the best. Buyers, especially people looking at purchasing investment properties also have to come up with a strategy that is good for their business. These buyers are not purchasing so much for themselves and what they like in a property but more so what they think others will like and be willing to shell out monthly rent to live there.

Case Study:

In the case of our property, 234 Roosevelt Ave. this situation is no different. We are selling a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home in the Third Ward very close to the UW - Eau Claire campus. The home is over 3,500 sq ft, central cooling and forced air heat, has garage parking for 3 vehicles and is a minute walk away from being on campus. In other words, everything a group of students could want and more. (Figure 1,2,3) A house like this is highly sought after by students who want to live off campus but not necessarily feel like they are living in a typical rental property. Which opens up other opportunities. With a property like this you are not limited to just students. Other properties for rent in the area are bare boned, out of date and not necessarily family friendly. This house would be perfect for a family new to the area who wants the downtown experience without fully committing to home ownership. To establish what kind of strategy we decided to use we had to look at the Third Ward as a whole as well as the surrounding area. To do so we used Business Analyst by ESRI and extension of ArcMap. We established a couple of things. In the Third Ward there are over 450 Renter Occupied Units (Figure 4). Going off this map alone we can see this is an area students are looking to rent in. Over half the houses in the Third Ward are being rented out, (52%.) We also wanted to see what the median age for the surrounding area was knowing that the college is a minute away. For the area our house is in the median age is 25 (Figure 2).This tells us a lot of traditional college aged students live there with maybe some younger families also located in the area. We also wanted to see how the Third Ward compared to the surrounding area. In the surrounding area (Figure 1) 66% of households are occupied by rents. This area of town is occupied with a pretty significant population of renters. We were curious to as what “type” of people were occupying the Third Ward and Surrounding Area and fortunately Business Analyst has a feature called Tapestry that lays out the demographic of any area with a brief explanation. Our Third Ward property is located in an area considered “College Towns” and the nearby University is considered “Dorms to Diplomas”. (Figure 3) This group is focused on their education, with 59% being enrolled in college or graduate school. Since many of these people are students, median household income tends to be low. This is due to most of the employed residents only work part time. If they aren’t living in a dorm on campus, this group tends to live in low income apartment rentals off campus. “Dorms to Diplomas” is very similar, this group is focused on their education, with 59% being enrolled in college or graduate school. Since many of these people are students, median household income tends to be low. This is due to most of the employed residents only work part time. If they aren’t living in a dorm on campus, this group tends to live in low income apartment rentals off campus. The last relevant group is the group on the east side of the third ward is known as “Old and Newcomers”. This is a transitional area, with people either just starting their careers or retiring. Educational attainment is above average. Although this is a different age class than the “Dorms to Diplomas” and “College Town”, more than 60% of “Old and Newcomers” are renters.

Summary:

There are many features about this property that make it valuable for people from all walks of life. It would be perfect for a new family starting out, plenty of bedrooms, wonderful interior and located close to many amenities they may desire. Our house is surrounded by people that are accustomed to renting their home, and this home has that potential. It could also easily be converted into a wonderful rental property. Its close proximity to campus, off street parking with two garages would make this desirable to students attending the university. It is currently priced at $289,000 but given the fact it has been on the market for a decent amount of a time an offer lower than that might get the owners to sell. Based off of surrounding rental properties, with similar characteristics, our house could be rented for a base price of $2,000.00 per month. This property has endless options, it is up to you as to what you would like to do with it.