Indianapolis Investment Property
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. It is Indiana’s largest city and is the 14th largest city in the U.S. Indianapolis has a diversified economy, contributing to the fields of manufacturing, distribution, education, health care, and finance. The city also plays host to numerous conventions and sporting events.
In addition to the opportunities available within the Indianapolis market, there are many other local real estate markets that have been identified by Empowered Investor Network as attractive options for investors. Your investment counselor will be able to help you find the ideal opportunity for your specific situation, and is available for strategic coaching. By merging exceptional investments with intelligent advice, and a superior strategy there is no limit to what you can accomplish.
Indianapolis was selected as the site of the new state capital in 1820. While most American state capitals tend to be located in the central region of their respective states, Indianapolis is the only capital to be in the exact center of its state. Jeremiah Sullivan, a judge of the Indiana Supreme Court, invented the name Indianapolis by joining Indiana with polis, the Greek word for city; literally, Indianapolis means “Indiana City”.
At the center of the city sat Governor’s Circle, a large circular commons, which was to be the site of the governor’s mansion. Meridian and Market Streets converge at the Circle and continue north and south and east and west, respectively.
With roads leading out of the city in all directions, Indianapolis became a major hub of regional transport connecting to Chicago, Louisville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis, befitting the capital of a state whose nickname is “The Crossroads of America.” Evidence of this assertion is found in the fact that 65% of the United States population lives within a 700 mile radius of Indianapolis.
Forbes Magazine ranked Indianapolis #10 in its survey of top US cities. This ranking is primarily driven by the strong employment, low cost of living, and attractive growth prospects of the area. Major employers such as Eli Lilly are planning future expansion in the Indianapolis area, and this will only serve to increase its viability as a location for investments. At Platinum, we target linear markets like Indianapolis that demonstrate strong employment fundamentals, which translate to consistent demand for rental housing.
In addition to Eli Lilly, Rolls-Royce is committing to expansion in Indianapolis. The Rolls-Royce Corporation is a leader in manufacturing, Research and development for gas turbine engines.
While Detroit is experiencing difficulties from the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler, Indianapolis is emerging as an automobile manufacturing center. Its favorable business environment, abundant land, and vast freeway access makes it an ideal manufacturing hub for industries such as automobiles.
Indianapolis possesses many virtues that cannot be expressed by statistics. Expansion magazine ranked Indianapolis as a 4-star metropolitan area for its quality of life in 2006. Furthermore, Indianapolis was ranked the #1 Pro-Sports city in North America, of Multiple sports franchises and the “Indy 500” Formula One race. In addition to these characteristics, Indianapolis possesses a strong growth undercurrent, being rated as the #5 hottest large city for entrepreneurs, and the #10 city for producing fast-growth companies.
Indianapolis is also a haven of affordable housing, possessing the best affordability in the nation for three consecutive corners, and is now being acclaimed for its stability relative to the bubble markets that are now experiencing so much market turbulence. At Platinum, we recommend investment in stable markets like Indianapolis because if it’s strong economic fundamentals.
Indianapolis is the international headquarters of the pharmaceutical corporation Eli Lilly and Company. Eli Lilly had revenues of $20 billion in 2008, making it the 148th largest company in the United States and the 10th largest corporation by global pharmaceutical sales. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and is a member of the S&P 500 stock index. The total number of employees for Eli Lilly stood at 40,600 in 2007.
Indianapolis also plays host to wireless distribution & logistics provider Brightpoint, health insurance provider Wellpoint, insurance company American United Life, Republic Airways Holdings, and real estate companies Simon Property Group & Hunt Construction Group. Other major Indianapolis area employers include Clarian Health, Sallie Mae, Cook Group, Rolls Royce, Delta Faucet Company and General Motors.
Indianapolis has also developed into a major logistics center. It is home to a FedEx hub and many major distribution centers for companies like Amazon.com, FoxConn, and numerous pharmaceutical distributors.
The city of Indianapolis possesses a very large and diverse workforce. With its employment base diversified across a broad range of industries, Indianapolis is known for exceptional stability during times of economic change. While many cyclical markets experience a recurrent trend of booms and busts as certain industries oscillate in and out of favor, Indianapolis continues to steadily grow with its fundamentally sound economic base. With such a broad base of employment opportunities, Indianapolis represents a highly attractive opportunity for investment property owners.
Indianapolis contains a broad base of higher education, and is the home of: Brown Mackie College, Butler University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indiana Wesleyan University, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Marian College, Martin University, Oakland City University (Indianapolis) Indianapolis campus, The Art Institute of Indianapolis, and the University of Indianapolis.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,154, and the median income for a family was $48,979. About 9.0% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under the age of 18 and 8.1% of those ages 65 or older. These characteristics support the strength of Indianapolis as an investment opportunity, since the household income is relatively high in comparison to the cost of housing and the poverty rate is relatively low. This creates an attractive environment for investment, since there is a healthy pool of potential renters with steady employment.
The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo ranked Indianapolis the most affordable major housing market in the U.S. for the fourth quarter of 2008, and Forbes magazine ranked it the sixth-best city for jobs in 2008, based on a combined graded balance of median household incomes, lack of unemployment, income growth, cost of living and job growth. In 2009, Indianapolis ranked first on CNN/Money’s list of the top 10 cities for recent graduates.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Indianapolis suffered at the hands of urban decay. Major revitalization of the city’s blighted areas, such as Fall Creek Place, and especially the downtown, began in the 1990s and led to an acceleration of growth on the fringes of the metropolitan Area. This growth trajectory has expanded out to many high quality neighborhoods in the outskirts of the city with many newer homes and attractive affordability.
Indianapolis’s future appears bright as the city continues to invest heavily in improvement projects, such as an expansion to the Convention Center, upgrading of the I-465 beltway and an entirely new airport terminal for the Indianapolis International Airport, which is now open. Consistent with Platinum’s strategy of targeting strong, linear real estate markets, Indianapolis represents the type of market that we seek for our investors and for our own portfolios as well.
If you are interested in the investment opportunities available with the Indianapolis Market, contact your investment counselor for a one-on-one consultation. In addition to the investment properties, ask your counselor about our coaching programs where they will work alongside you to develop a holistic strategy that merges attractive investments, solid financial planning, exceptional education, and a strong focus on personal values to help achieve your goals now and into the future. We are ready to help you realize the success that you have ever dreamed of. Are you ready to take the next step?