Finding an up and coming neighborhood

I recently read an excerpt from a new book authored by one of my favorite real estate tycoons, Barbara Corcoran. Barbara Corcoran founded The Corcoran Group on a $1,000 in New York City. It is likely the most successful real estate company in New York.

She suggests following the tips below for finding up and coming neighborhoods. While these efforts apply very nicely to large cities, such as New York, Chicago, Atlanta, modifications to each do apply to small town Montana.

• Check out a new neighborhood when the sun goes down. Do you feel safe? Are there young people? Look for new nightclubs, restaurants, and bars. Are there lines forming to get inside? These are all good signs according to Corcoran.
• When touring a new neighborhood during the day, look for folks sitting on park benches, feeding ducks or pigeons, walking through the neighborhood.

Corcoran suggests that the stages of a neighborhood begin with young folks moving in because of affordable rent or purchase prices. Following shortly are nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, followed shortly by retail shops and offices. Eventually the neighborhood becomes trendy and people with more money can't wait to buy something in the area and are willing to spend money to do so.

This phenomenon in action can be seen in Bozeman's historic northeast neighborhood. When I moved to Bozeman 4 years ago, my Realtor told me that the "northeast side is where the working people live". Well, since I was a "working people" I fit right in and bought a little house on Plum. A lot of people bought in the northeast at that time because of its affordability. Shortly after that, the Mill St. District was created, an Italian bakery moved in, the Village Downtown sprouted up to the east, and the area became a hotbed for those willing to spend money to live there. Little old "working class" houses were purchased for $300,000 and more, torn down, and rebuilt. A short drive on Plum Avenue proves just that with 3 very large houses surrounding my old 1 bedroom yellow shack.

So where's the next hotbed? Apply Corcorans methods. Look for affordability and accessibility first, such as downtown Livingston and places in Helena. Look for signs of revitalization. Livingston is full of this with the new Town & Country and proposal for a new hospital. In fact the new hospital location will sandwich downtown and the historic east side of Livingston -- the affordable "working people" side. Drive around, better yet, ride a bike during the day and evening and check out the people.

Other places in and around Bozeman I would watch include newer subdivisions popping up on Huffine or Jackrabbit, near schools. Look for starter neighborhoods, such as West Winds Subdivision off 19th, for investment opportunities.

If your Realtor ever says to you "working people" be sure to thank that Realtor. Their ignorance could make you a bundle and provide you with a great place to live!