As an investor, it’s critical to know current market trends, new laws, and any other shifts in the economy that can affect your bottom line. But what resources are the best ones? Many of you have been curious as to what resources and market research tools you can use in order to stay current, so here are our three favorites.

Berkadia is a leader in the commercial real estate industry, offering numerous services to multifamily and commercial property clients. They sell, finance, and service commercial real estate, providing support for the entire life cycle of their clients’ assets. Their research, resources, and proprietary data is invaluable to real estate investors.

While everyone uses Zillow, not everyone uses it correctly for research purposes. If you are looking to buy a unit or rent one out, you should be looking at how similar properties are priced. You should also look into how long certain units stay listed before they are rented. That will give you a good idea of how the market will respond to the price you set.

We like to track data, but you have to make sure the data isn’t manipulated. One source of unbiased information is U-Haul’s website, which offers statistics on where trucks are being rented and dropped off. We use it at MC to track migration patterns. U-Haul’s website lists their truck rentals by state, so it’s easy to see which states are attracting the most residents. This is key data when deciding which states are the best for investment opportunities.