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8 Best Cities for Real Estate Investment: Part 1

We know what you’re on the hunt for: the best cities for real estate investment. But, there are so many different factors that define the best places to invest in real estate. So, how can a real estate investor possibly know just where to invest in real estate?

From the thousands of cities in the vast US real estate market, we’ve chosen 8 for you. These well-rounded cities will be some of the best places to buy rental property, without a doubt.

Best Cities for Real Estate Investment: Orlando, FL

The Orlando real estate market is a seller’s market; let’s just lay that out there now. And because of this, those buying an investment property this year might think to avoid Orlando. But, they’d be making a huge real estate investing mistake. That’s because, as we mentioned, the best cities to invest in rental properties are well-rounded.­ This means where they “fall short” in one aspect of real estate investing, they more than make up for it in another.

So, Orlando real estate may not be in the ideal buyer’s market you were hoping for (like some of the other real estate markets on this list). Still, you won’t necessarily have to pay a skyrocket-high price. We all know those can really hurt the ROI (return on investment) if a real estate investor isn’t careful. While the Median Property Price is $343,663, there is actually a significant percentage of Orlando investment properties that fall well under $270,000.

Even though the Orlando real estate market is a seller’s market and inventory is quite low, investment property prices are not as high as they are in other seller’s markets this year. That makes it a great addition to the best cities for real estate investment due to the fact that the US housing market is an overall seller’s market. It’s hard to find a market without expensive investment properties this year.

Want a vacation home rental in Orlando? Well, Orlando made this list as well.

And remember, there are two major positives of owning an investment property in a seller’s market:

  1. You’ll benefit from real estate appreciation (an estimated 7.3% by 2019)
  2. Demand for rental properties is likely high in a seller’s market; this means more rental income for landlords

Specifically, in the Orlando real estate market, the number of renters is 64.9%! Those are potential tenants for your rental property. The positive cash flow is tangible in Orlando, that’s for sure. Want to know what else won’t cut into your cash flow? The state income tax (which is non-existent), the property taxes, and insurance costs (which are relatively low).

Orlando Real Estate Market Stats

Note: All of the real estate stats on this list are provided by Mashvisor’s investment calculator. Want similar info for other real estate markets? Sign up for Mashvisor to get ahold of our tools.

Airbnb Rental Income: $1,156

Airbnb Cash on Cash Return and Cap Rate: 1.46%

Traditional Rental Income: $1,554

Traditional Cash on Cash Return and Cap Rate: 1.48%

Check out the top performing investment properties here.

Other Interesting Facts Orlando Real Estate Investors Should Know

Job Growth Rate (1 Year): 4.2%

Unemployment Rate: 3.1%

Population Growth Rate (5 Year): 14.2%

Equity Growth Rate (5 Year): 66.40%

Cost of Living Index: 70.78

Start looking for Orlando real estate right now. Click here to get started.

Best Cities for Real Estate Investment: Tampa, FL

Those buyer’s markets we promised? The Tampa real estate market is one of them. Despite this fact, a large number of the population are renters: 53.2%. This means investing in Tampa real estate and owning a rental property here will bring good rental income.

Tampa also made it onto this list: The 7 Best Places to Buy a Vacation Home in Florida

Even with a buyer’s market, the real estate appreciation is forecast to be 9.7%. A location where the power is in the hands of the buyer AND the rate of real estate appreciation is high? Of course, the Tampa real estate market made it onto the list of the best places to invest in real estate. And we haven’t even talked about the $130 billion economy of the city or the high percentage of affordable housing under $150,000.

Tampa Real Estate Market Stats

Median Property Price: $368,521

Airbnb Rental Income: $1,481

Airbnb Cash on Cash Return and Cap Rate: 2.03%

Traditional Rental Income: $1,586

Traditional Cash on Cash Return and Cap Rate: 1.62%

Check out the top performing investment properties here.

Other Interesting Facts Tampa Real Estate Investors Should Know

Job Growth Rate (1 Year): 2.1%

Unemployment Rate: 3.6%

Population Growth Rate (5 Year): 8.7%

Equity Growth Rate (5 Year): 4.6%

Cost of Living Index: 71.82

Start looking for Tampa real estate right now. Click here to get started.

Best Cities for Real Estate Investment: Cleveland, OH

The Cleveland real estate market is another seller’s market, but the Median Property Price is only $179,193. If you think that is still too high for a rental property, know that there are plenty of investment properties priced below $114,000.

Now, we want to emphasize that a cheap real estate investment is not always among the best real estate investments. That is far from true when it comes to a Cleveland investment property. Being the 12th largest economic region in the US, Cleveland boasts one of the strongest real estate markets in the nation. Thanks to about $19 billion in city development (completed and planned since 2010), it’s no wonder the Cleveland real estate market has seen some of the largest population increases in its region. Even with the low investment property prices, 59.5% of that population are still tenants for you to make serious rental income on!

And those affordable prices are going up with an estimated real estate appreciation of 7.4% for this year.

Cleveland Real Estate Market Stats

Airbnb Rental Income: $567

Airbnb Cash on Cash Return and Cap Rate: 0.26%

Traditional Rental Income: $917

Traditional Cash on Cash Return and Cap Rate: 0.43%

Check out top performing investment properties here.

Other Interesting Facts Cleveland Real Estate Investors Should Know

Job Growth Rate (1 Year): 1.2%

Unemployment Rate: 6.1%

Population Growth Rate (5 Year): -1%

Equity Growth Rate (5 Year): 15.1%

Cost of Living Index: 69.62

Start looking for Cleveland real estate right now. Click here to get started.

Best Cities for Real Estate Investment: Columbus, OH

We just can’t seem to avoid seller’s markets when it comes to the best cities for real estate investment. But just like the Cleveland real estate market, Columbus offers real estate investors affordable investment properties. You can find many properties under $125,000, which isn’t too bad for a strong seller’s market.

Columbus might not have crossed your mind when you were looking for the best cities for real estate investment. But, did you know that this real estate market is home to the world’s largest private research and development foundation? On top of that, the Columbus real estate market houses the nation’s third-largest university campus, the Ohio State University campus. All of this spells out job opportunities, student housing, and even college sporting events drawing demand for your rental properties.

It comes as no surprise that Now Is the Time to Invest in Airbnb Columbus, Ohio.

The positive cash flow a Columbus rental property can get here is thanks to the high demand from the 56.3% of tenants making up the population as well. With such demand, property values should increase 5.8%.

Columbus Real Estate Market Stats

Median Property Price: $255,303

Airbnb Rental Income: $1,455

Airbnb Cash on Cash Return and Cap Rate: 1.33%

Traditional Rental Income: $1,241

Traditional Cash on Cash Return and Cap Rate: 1.23%

Check out top performing investment properties here.

Other Interesting Facts Columbus Real Estate Investors Should Know

Job Growth Rate (1 Year): 2.35%

Unemployment Rate: 3.4%

Population Growth Rate (5 Year): 7.08%

Equity Growth Rate (5 Year): 24.39%

Cost of Living Index: 67.45

Start looking for Columbus real estate right now. Click here to get started.

Those are the first 4 of our 8 best cities for real estate investment. To read about the next four, click here.

Want similar real estate analytics to those outlined in our list for the best cities for real estate investment? Mashvisor is the place. To start your 7-day free trial with Mashvisor and subscribe to our services with a 15% discount after, click here.

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Sylvia Shalhout

Sylvia was the Content Marketing Manager at Mashvisor. As a real estate writer, she has been covering topics for the beginner and advanced real estate investor, helping them make smarter decisions as well as real estate agents looking to take their business to the next level.

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