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HomeVestors (the “We Buy Ugly Houses” folks) has named the top 10 cities for real estate investing and 10 junior markets for real estate investing in the first quarter of 2008 (Junior markets are cities with a population of 150,000 or more). They are as follows:

1. Dallas, TX
   
2. Houston, TX
   
3. Atlanta, Ga
   
4. Fort Worth, TX
   
5. St. Louis, MO
   
6. Philadelphia, PA
   
7. San Antonio, TX
   
8. Denver, CO
   
9. Minneapolis, MN
   
10. Phoenix, AZ
    

Top 10 Junior Markets

1. Columbus, GA
   
2. Panama City, FL
   
3. Springfield, MO
   
4. Brevard County, FL
   
5. Greensboro, NC
   
6. Lubbock, TX
   
7. Columbia, SC
   
8. Ft. Walton Beach, FL
   
9. Kent/Sussex Counties, DE
   
10. Michigan City, IN

These findings are based on the number of houses bought in each market by HomeVestors in Q1 of quarter of 2008 (source http://www.homevestors.com/inthenews)

As the Dallas-based franchise company specializes in buying, rehabbing and selling single-family houses and rescuing homeowners from ugly houses and ugly real estate situations, the current downturn in residential real estate makes for a fantastic acquisition environment. As I mentioned in a previous blogpost, this climate of falling prices, inventory oversupply, and resulting homeowner desperation to get rid of their houses, is a prime time for smart investors to go heavy on property acquisition. As long as your exit strategy is to buy and hold, and not to flip (which is going to be very very difficult in today’s climate), and as long as you can afford to hold the property for at least 5-7 years, you should definitely take advantage of these conditions.

I have to admit that I don’t completely trust this data. I mean, I do not doubt that these are the areas where some of the best bargains can be had: HomeVestors does enough volume to observe significant trends. But there are so many other factors that make a city a hot investment market, which can not be ignored; the HomeVestors press release doesn’t address those factors explicitly. For example, the city’s economic development plans, jobs growth outlook, and other macroeconomic factors must be considered. Also, the rental outlook must be considered. As you buy a property, the low acquisition price is only one factor that determines whether you will see positive cash flow (or at least break even). Rents must also be strong and in demand. Overall, there is strong rental demand right now across the nation, as many homeowners lose their homes to foreclosure and many other hopeful homeowners can’t get a mortgage due to tougher standards. But some cities are definitely hotter rental markets than others. If people are fleeting a city due to lack of jobs, rental market will suffer. The HomeVestor list seems to be very TX-centric. By a sheer coincidence, the company is based in Dallas. Hmmm….. I would be very interested in hearing from our readers what they consider to be the top cities for investing.

Another question for the readers: would you consider investing away from home? What are some factors that you consider whether or not you feel comfortable with investing away from home? What resources do you use? Do you work with another local investor to show you the ropes? We are working on a tool that can connect investors to each other, based on area of interest, as well as other investing goals. As various areas of the country may become attractive to investors than their own home turf (Gulf Region GO Zone, for example), we see more and more people venturing outside of their own backyard. And we would love to help investors make the process a smooth one.

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