The Top 10 Cities for Investors on a Budget

[Bevla Reeves]

I thought this was interesting from Realtor.com.  I was happy to see Phoenix on the list!  Although I find that it's highly competitive in my market...so there goes your budget if you want to submit the highest offer! ;)) 

 If your city is on this list, are you finding good deals as an investor?

To find the best budget-friendly places to invest, they looked at single-family homes that cost $232,500 or under, which is the median price of existing homes nationwide in April, according to NAR). Their analysis also included other factors, which is why some markets with lower appreciation appear higher on the list.)

The top 10 cities for investors on a budget:

1. Jacksonville, Fla.: 3.6%
2. Tampa, Fla.: 4.4%
3. Orlando, Fla.: 3.7%
4. Chicago, Ill.: 4.2%
5. Detroit, Mich.: 3.1%
6. Las Vegas, Nev.: 4.7%
7. Cincinnati, Ohio: 3.4%
8. Phoenix, Ariz.: 4.8%
9. Cleveland, Ohio: 3.4%
10. Minneapolis, Minn.: 3.4%

HomeUnion also identified the following metros as where buyers can see the largest first-year rental returns as a landlord:

1. Cleveland, Ohio: 11.1%
2. Columbia, S.C.: 9.7%
3. Birmingham, Ala.: 8.5%
4. Pittsburgh, Pa.: 8.4%
5. Milwaukee, Wis.: 8.4%

Source: “The Best Cities to Invest in Real Estate on a Budget,” realtor.com® (July 25, 2016)

[Adrien C.]

It's often overlooked (possibly because it's more of a region vs a single city) but NW Indiana is a rental dream. Hammond, Lake Station, Merrillville, Griffith, and others are locations were you can get 8-10% buying turn key and 10-12-15% or more if you are involved more. It's pretty easy to get rentals in the $65-85K range that get $1000-1250 or more in rents. Taxes are crazy low and Indiana is a very land lord friendly state. Plus we're seeing some really good appreciation this year in those markets.