Thinking About Buying Investment Property in the Hudson Valley? Read This First

Written by:

Alejandra Rodriguez

Date:

29 May 2026

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A lot of people dream of owning a rental property – collecting checks every month and building wealth while someone else pays the mortgage. According to one Hudson Valley broker who owns investment properties himself, the dream version and the real version are pretty different.

Greg Berardi, owner of Berardi Realty in Ulster County, has been buying and managing investment real estate for years – apartment buildings, multi-families, storage facilities, mobile home parks. His advice is straightforward.

“People think you’re going to buy a couple of investment properties and live off them,” Berardi says. “That’s really not how it works.”

How Does It Work?

Think of a rental property less like a cash machine and more like a retirement account. The real payoff isn’t next year – it’s in 20 years, when you own the property outright, and the rent roll has grown substantially.

Here’s a simple example Berardi uses: Buy a $500,000 property, put 20 to 25% down ($100,000 to $125,000), and if you’re clearing $1,000 a month in profit after the mortgage and expenses, that’s a solid return on your investment. Not life-changing money right away – but steady, compounding, long-term wealth.

“In 20 years, you’re going to own the property – and that’s where the real return comes,” he says.

Investors who come in expecting to replace their income in five years are usually disappointed. Investors who treat it like planting a tree tend to do well.

What Investors Are Looking For

In the Hudson Valley, the most in-demand investment properties are residential rentals – two-family, three-family, and small apartment buildings. Demand for rental housing in the region has climbed steadily since 2020, driven by the same wave of city transplants pushing up home prices. When people can’t afford to buy, they rent. And in a market where home prices keep rising, the renter pool keeps growing.

The key concept in investment real estate is “value add” – buying a property where current rents are below what the market will support. Say an apartment in a building is renting for $1,300 a month, but similar units nearby are going for $1,700. That $400 gap is your upside. You’re not just buying what the property earns today – you’re buying what it could earn once you bring rents to market rate.

“The most important thing for an investor to understand is the rental market and what the rents could be,” Berardi says.

What’s Not Working

On the commercial side, office space and retail storefronts are struggling. Vacancy rates remain high in both categories across the Hudson Valley. If you’re eyeing a mixed-use building with ground-floor retail, that space may sit empty for a while.

The larger factor on the commercial side has been interest rates. When rates were near historic lows, investment deals penciled out easily. When commercial rates nearly doubled – jumping from around 4% to close to 8% between 2023 and 2024 – the math stopped working for many buyers. Deal volume dropped almost overnight.

“Whenever the rates almost double, that’s a shock to the market,” Berardi says, “and it takes years for that to set in.”

The commercial market is starting to recover. Prices have adjusted, investors have recalibrated, and deals are moving again – just not at the pace of a few years ago.

Prepare Before You Buy

Before making an offer on any investment property, Berardi says you need to do one thing above everything else: understand the local rental market cold. Know what similar units are renting for. Know the vacancy rates in that neighborhood. Know whether rents are trending up or flat.

In the Hudson Valley specifically, that knowledge has real value, because the rental market has been climbing for years and shows no signs of slowing. City buyers keep arriving, home prices keep rising, and demand for quality rentals keeps growing. Research recent rental comps in the specific neighborhood, not just the county overall. Pockets like Midtown Kingston have seen dramatic shifts in desirability and rent levels in just the past few years.

Run the numbers at today’s rates, not the rates you’re hoping for. If the deal only works at 5% and rates are at 7%, it probably won’t work. Think long. If a 20-year hold doesn’t appeal to you, investment property probably isn’t the right move.

What Comes Next

Rental property in the Hudson Valley can be a strong long-term investment, but only with realistic expectations. The market is competitive, the numbers require patience, and the payoff is measured in decades, not months. For buyers willing to take that longer view, the region’s sustained rental demand and limited housing supply create conditions where time works in your favor – provided the fundamentals are right from day one.

About the Expert: Greg Berardi is Broker/Owner of Berardi Realty in Ulster County, NY, with nearly 30 years of experience in the Hudson Valley market. His focus is residential and commercial real estate, including investment properties, across Ulster, Greene, Orange, and Dutchess counties.

This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.