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Updated over 2 years ago on . Most recent reply

User Stats

2
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1
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Kelly Peng
  • New to Real Estate
  • San Francisco Bay Area
1
Votes |
2
Posts

First time investor: Tampa or Dallas?

Kelly Peng
  • New to Real Estate
  • San Francisco Bay Area
Posted

Hi fellow investors, happy New Year!

My boyfriend and I are living in SF Bay Area, and we are looking to invest in a SFH remotely with <300k house pricegood appreciation and positive cashflow. We are first-time home buyers. 

We looked at Jacksonville FL, Tampa FL, Miami FL, Austin TX, Atlanta GA, Dallas TX, Denver CO, Charlotte NC. The data we gathered include: 

- Median house price growth over past 5 years

- Population growth over past 10 years

- Tax rate (income and property tax)

- % houses in the market that are within our 300k budget

- and some other factors

We narrowed the list of cities down to Tampa FL, and Dallas TX because:

Both:

- No state income tax

- House price growth over the past 5 years look good

- Plenty of houses within our budget

Tampa:

- Pros: Nice environment (by the ocean!); 5-year house price growth 45%

- Cons: One of the most vulnerable population centers to a hurricane strike; not sure about future growth

Dallas:

- Pros: House price growth was very fast in the past 2 years; maybe has a bigger potential to grow because tech companies in the Bay Area seem to like moving to Texas

- Cons: High property tax; house price growth not as fast as Tampa in the past 5 years

I would love to seek your advice on:

1. For the goal of <300k house price, good appreciation, and positive cashflow. Which city would you choose to invest and why? 

2. If you think we made silly mistakes in selecting the city to invest in, could you point them out? 


Thank you very much!

    Most Popular Reply

    User Stats

    45
    Posts
    42
    Votes
    Cynthia McGathey
    • Real Estate Broker
    • Treasure Island, FL
    42
    Votes |
    45
    Posts
    Cynthia McGathey
    • Real Estate Broker
    • Treasure Island, FL
    Replied

    @Kelly Peng

    Kelly,

    A vote for Tampa from me as well! And more specifically Pinellas County along the beaches and downtown St Petersburg.

    Appreciation in value has been consistent year over year. Activity and demand is high with the average time on market about 20 days.

    In Treasure island alone, which is where I’ve lived for 30 years, more homes sold this year in the pandemic than last year and the price per sq foot increased increased by 19% and the average sale price 38%.

    The area is immune to economic issues!

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