Chris & John
- Apr 29, 2021
- 3 min read

Ep 144: Data-Driven Investing with Aaron Norris

When your searching is driven by the right datasets you will find better deals, and today on the show we talk data with Aaron Norris, VP of Market Insights at PropertyRadar. Aaron is a multifaceted man whose talents lie in the fields of marketing, data, and education, and he also has experience in the hard money lending game with The Norris Group owned by his father Bruce. Our conversation with Aaron is all about the movements he is privy to in different markets and how he can locate the best opportunities by leveraging unique datasets. We kick things off hearing about Aaron’s interesting career beginning as a broke actor in NYC before he fell in love with marketing and data on Wall Street. Aaron then joined his father at The Norris Group and he talks about the benefits of Main Street lending and the market timing publications he helped Bruce co-author. From there we speak about the impacts of the pandemic on population size and investment opportunities in New York, Florida, California, and other markets. Moving onto the subject of using data in one’s investment strategy, we query Aron about the metrics that he feels are most important to pay attention to before jumping into a market. Wrapping up, we talk to Aaron about how he helps clients take a class of property they are interested in investing in and refine their search by using his knack for locating unique datasets. Tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Introducing Aaron, his background, and current occupation as VP of Market Insights at PropertyRadar.
Advantages of Main Street lending for jumping on local opportunities.
Perspectives on opportunities in Florida versus New York markets after the pandemic.
Preferences around work from home and hybrid arrangements and which models will stick.
Less than perfect living situations Aaron experienced during his days as an artist in NYC.
Aaron’s dad’s skill at market timing and data-driven publications Aaron helped him create.
Beating data-driven analysis paralysis by plugging into movements in one’s local markets.
What kind of metrics to pay attention to when assessing a local market.
Unexpected rent growth and whether it is a good idea to make big assumptions.
Metrics that personally appeal to Aaron and make him want to invest in a market.
Whether to use data to find opportunities or come up with a thesis and see if data supports it.
Refining a search filter using specific data points to locate good investments while paying less.
Aaron’s marketing philosophy and how he finds and appeals to the groups he is after.

Tweetables:

“I teach investors, mortgage professionals, realtors, and even home services how to get dangerous with data.” — @aaronnorris [0:02:48]

“Making data talk. That’s particularly what I am so passionate about.” — @aaronnorris [0:19:01]

“I was a broke actor in New York City until 2004. Now I hold rentals in New York and California and my life is forever changed.” — @aaronnorris [0:20:32]

“By doing a lot of research on your market you can understand what people are buying and try to backward engineer why.” — @aaronnorris [0:40:11]