Convention visitors is down 3% (-100k people)Vacation visitors is down 1% (-180k people)Gambling profits up 4.5% (+ $100 million to $3.3billion)The average room rate is actually up (barely) although the revpar is down barely. 

I think Toscano has been on the market for multiple years and it is unfortunate if they still have "new" homes for sale.San Luis is a great place to live, but you will be taking a sizable gamble if you are looking for future appreciation in the near term.  

@Andrew Brown,That's a financial decision you'll have to make for yourself.Depending on appreciation is speculation (read: gambling), not "investing".

The gamble with a rehab is that you will sell it for a certain price when you complete the work.

If you don't have much equity and the house doesn't cash flow, you are then really banking on appreciation, and that's a gamble in my opinion.

Typically, high-risk trades that are almost akin to gambling fall under the umbrella of speculation, whereas lower-risk investments based on fundamentals and analysis fall into the category of investing.

This is a bit of a gamble though.

If you were in the area or if you have someone that really knows the market in the area you could take that gamble and it may pay off but just as easily it could leave you selling for half of what you purchased it for in 5 years.Now my final disclosure, BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING in Port Huron you need to go read the new zoning rules that the local government has passed that no longer allows rentals in certain neighborhoods as well as the landlording regulations that require rental certificates and inspections.I do want to let you know that when I started investing in Port Huron in '09 I had hoped to buy bad houses in the Hospital / College area, fix them up and rent them to stabilize that community.

Either way, I believe it is all a gamble if the redevelopment plan comes to fruition or not.  

As my GC says: "if it's stood straight and true for the last 100 years, it'll probably make it at least another 25".Don't get me wrong; there are plenty of issues/problems/quirks that old houses have that new houses don't, and an old house can obviously have hidden problems and big repair/maintenance bills too--which is why thorough due diligence is fundamental to REI...but, the point is: a new house is not a foolproof solution to repairs/maintenance headaches (and in some cases, a brand new house can be a much bigger gamble than an older house).Good luck out there!