Quote from @Travis Timmons:
It depends on what you're looking for...my perspective is that leverage + appreciation is what makes real estate worth the hassle. There just isn't the market appreciation, population growth, or job growth in the area to make me take a hard look.
The low entry price is tempting, but my opinion (usually unsolicited but not this time!) is that it makes more sense to invest in a market that will have greater rent and price appreciation over time. I also think that the average rents aren't forgiving enough to offset normal capex. A roof is still 10-15k whether you rent a place out for $900/month or $2900/month.
If you are in Iceland/Spain, though, I can get behind investing in any market that you have trusted friends/family locally. This is a hands on business, and having family that you trust in the area is a big deal if you are that far away. I like Champaign-Urbana a bit more, but the thoughts above still ring true (and property taxes are a real headwind to appreciation).
Thanks for your solicited opinion Travis! You're right, it's a market that doesn't appreciate much and the rents are low. But since I'm looking into ground up, there should be some sweat equity to be captured. It depends of course on a good deal on the land, HUD offsets, grants, tax credits etc. I'm trying to find people who are actually doing it to check that the theory works. Where are you investing?
