Real estate investment continues to be among the best ways to achieve true financial freedom and grow your wealth for a secure future. Turnkey properties for sale offer a faster path to that first check than “fixer-uppers,” but where should you be looking for the best turnkey properties for sale: properties that will build your portfolio with strong cash flow and steadily growing equity?
What Makes an Area Desirable
You’ll find lists all over the web purporting to tell you the best places for rental property, but what actually determines whether an area is truly a smart rental investment area are three key things: affordability, population growth, and job growth. Each of these has to be considered, and in some cases, balanced against one another and other factors.
What these three issues generally mean for an investor are high cash flow and strong equity. When the job market is good, and the population is growing, people are looking to rent, and you should enjoy steady cash flow. Affordability means you can buy for a relatively low price, collecting steady cash while your equity builds.
Domestic Investment
If you’re looking to invest domestically, consider these hot areas for rental properties:
1. Houston, Texas
Houston is a great place to invest. It’s been one of the hearts of the recent American oil and gas boom, and people have been drawn there for jobs since its founding in 1837. It has more Fortune 1000 list companies based in it than any city but New York and is home to NASA’s Mission Control and the world’s largest medical center.
Population growth has increased steadily since 2012, and by more than the national average, and affordability is high. Home values are rising quickly, but the market is active, meaning it’s not difficult to exit an investment quickly if need be.
2. Tampa, Florida
Florida continues to be a hot area for investment in turnkey properties for sale. Tampa is one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, with strong job growth in healthcare and financial services. Amazon and the University of South Florida help make the area desirable for job seekers as does the presence of Publix Super Markets Inc. and Jabil Circuit Inc.
The population is growing, and while housing prices are relatively expensive, a savvy investor can still find pockets of affordable housing with a bit of hunting.
3. Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the most densely populated city in Alabama and a county seat. While the city had been in decline for a while, in recent years, city planners have taken steps to revive its reputation as the “Magic City;” a reputation earned just after the Civil War when settlers realized that everything needed to make steel was available in that valley.
Today, Birmingham is experiencing rapid growth and is home to Alabama’s largest employer, UAB. It’s also a major hub for publishing, construction, and banking. It’s historic yet vibrant downtown attracts a growing population, and home prices are well below the national average. The city offers a stable real estate market with steady rises in home prices that make it attractive to the turnkey investor.
4. Columbus, Ohio
As the capital of Ohio and the state’s largest city, Columbus has a lot going for it. The average home prices are well below the national average, while the average rent is only slightly lower than the national average. While job growth is not as impressive in Columbus as it is in other cities on this list, it is still steady, and slower job growth is mitigated by steady population growth and very affordable properties.
The city is home to Ohio State University, the country’s third-largest university campus, and the largest private research and development foundation in the world: Battelle Memorial Institute. Columbus also offers steadily rising home equity.
5. St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is a mature city with a stable real estate market. The average home price is well below the national average, while the average monthly rents are well above, making it an excellent place to look at turnkey properties for sale.
St. Louis has a stable economy, reasonable job growth, slow but steady population growth, and excellent affordability. Slower job and population growth numbers are important to consider in the context of Missouri at large, since the metro area of St. Louis is 45.3% of the state’s entire economic output.
6. Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque lies at the center of the so-called “Technology Corridor” of New Mexico, home to numerous tech companies such as Intel, US military and government institutions like the Kirtland Air Force Base, and 10 universities and colleges, including the University of New Mexico and ITT Technical Institute.
Affordability is good, and population growth is consistent, if not high. It has higher-than-average job growth, and the rent-to-purchase ratio is excellent, making it a promising place for rental property investors.
International Turnkey Properties for Sale
For those looking at rental properties abroad, consider these high-value locations:
7. Panama City
Real estate transactions have slowed here, and it’s a buyer’s market. The economy is strong and continues to grow. GDP growth is the best in Latin America, and per capita income has doubled in the last decade.
Panama offers reasonably good rents and strong investment from Europe and the United States, and, most recently, from China. This, along with immigration from other parts of Latin America, has kept the market stable and make Panama a good place for an international real estate investor to consider.
8. Portugal
Portugal is a popular place for foreign investment because it has affordable properties, offers steady equity, and the country permits non-residents to have a mortgage. Lisbon doesn’t offer the best affordability, but the Porto and Algarve coasts are worth a look.
9. Turkey
The attempted coup of 2016 is long over, and home values in Istanbul are strong and offer steady equity growth. Istanbul is one of the world’s most-visited cities, and both the city and country are in the midst of a rising population and economic growth, with solid expansion in the middle class. Affordability is excellent, and returns are high.
10. Turks and Caicos
Affordability is low here, which would normally make this area a no-go for real estate investors. What makes Turks and Caicos special, however, is the high rental yields. Luxury properties at these prices in the United States would struggle to generate enough rent to make them worth an investor’s while, but in this part of the Caribbean, even expensive luxury properties can offer net rental yields of 8%. Another reason to consider this area is that banks are willing to lend to non-residents.
Make No Mistakes
Real estate investment is a sound way to grow your income, but it has its pitfalls for the inexperienced and unwary. When you need advice on the best turnkey properties for sale or any other issue in real estate investment, turn to the best and tune in to The Creating Wealth Show podcast. Jason Hartman shares his experience as an investor and keeps you updated on important issues facing real estate investment.
You can be free of the rate race and build up a portfolio of investments that will give you financial freedom and a secure future. Get started on the road to self-reliance and learn more about real estate investment today.
