While the inventory of foreclosed homes is quickly shrinking, there are still plenty of opportunities to invest in real estate.
“For the last few years, investors have been able to find real estate bargains they could turn into rental properties. That period is pretty much over – the inventory of foreclosed homes has been picked fairly clean, at least in the larger markets,” said Ingo Winzer, president of Local Media Markets.
However, this doesn’t mean there are no options left for investing.
“You don't need a bargain in order to make a good real estate investment. Demand for rentals continues to increase in many markets, while homeownership erodes. It's strongest in those markets growing the fastest,” said Winzer.
HomeVestors, the parent company of We Buy Ugly Houses, complied a list of the 10 best markets for real estate investing using new quarterly data from its Local Market Monitor, a real estate forecast solution derived from where its getting the most of its current business.
The list was also created by identifying markets that will be good rental markets and where home prices are likely to increase at a good rate over the next few years. Criteria included markets where:
- The population has been growing at above-average rates (4% or better) with growth coming from people moving there in search of jobs
- The current rate of job growth of 2% or better
- There is low unemployment, so that new jobs will be filled by people who move there, not by unemployed people who are already there
- Additionally, markets that have a small population because they don’t have stable economies were excluded
Here are top 10 best markets list for real estate investing, from least best to greatest:
10. Raleigh, North Carolina
9. Nashville, Tennessee
8. Charleston, South Carolina
7. San Antonio, Texas
6. Orlando, Florida
5. Seattle, Washington
4. Austin, Texas
3. Houston, Texas
2. Dallas, Texas
1. Denver, Colorado
