Upcoming Markets in Texas for Investing

[Charlene Stovin]

Hi all

I am trying to research other areas in Texas that would be worth looking at to start investing.  I live in NW Fort Worth, but was thinking maybe there are other areas other than the big 4 usually mentioned, that might be decent areas to start looking at, are still reasonably priced, and offer enough job variety to support a rental applicant pool

Besides San Antonio area, DFW, Austin, and Lubbock....what other Texas Cities and Towns would you look at, and why do you think they would be a good place to invest in?  (Note:  I am counting DFW to include areas like McKinney, Frisco, Dallas, Arlington, etc.)

[Corin Prendiville]

I think offering more than asking price is just part of the game right now. Its not more than the place is worth if everyone else is offering the same. For reference I paid $10k over asking on a property last August and the thing has appreciated 50k since then, am I worrying about the $10k? No, because I am holding onto this place for the next 30 years and by then it will likely be worth a million or more (no guarantees of course but that seems to be the trajectory of the DFW market). Also try to search properties that are sitting on market, they get forgotten by people due to bad marketing, bad photos, maybe some deferred maintenance. Some love will make some of those competitive in this market again and be great investments, I see tons of perfectly good properties sitting on the market for 30-60-90 days and being ignored while others that look just as bad when you walk them selling with multiple offers in one day. 

That same property had someone else outbid me by $5k but I won the offer based on better conditions for the previous owner. It never feels good buying in a sellers market but you either figure out a way to make it work or sit on the sidelines while everyone else makes money and expands their portfolio, if the alternative is money rotting away in a bank account or you not being leveraged at all its not even a question about which path is better. Just don't stretch yourself too thin, always look for the next deal and you'll be fine in the long-term.

If the entry price is too much for you I'd look at some ancillary markets that are a bit out from DFW, one town I was surprised by its quaint look was Sulphur Springs, and Greenville is another option. There are markets like that all around the outskirts of DFW that are going to feel ripple effects in appreciation and demand as the DFW market continues to grow and expand. I watched the same thing happen in the suburbs and rural areas around Seattle, WA over the last ten years where $80k properties are now worth $300k-$400k just due to population growth and the displacement of old Seattleites further out from the city. Money moves. 

I do second that College Station and San Antonio are good markets to get into, but there is plenty of opportunity still in the DFW market. The prices going up and the population growth are evidence that this is a market to be in not one to get out of. Its like not wanting to buy Tesla stock because it goes from $100 to $300 and then not being there when it went to $2k and split 5 ways and then went to $900 again because you felt it was too expensive. Just look at the fundamentals and make a decision based on that, don't make a decision based on sticker shock. 

*do your own due diligence on any and all investments. :)

Lastly I'd like to add the old quote from the stock world but it applies to real estate to. Bulls make money, Bears make money, but Pigs get slaughtered.

Just don't let the bears convince you that being a bull makes you a pig, and make sure you aren't a pig.