Best Real Estate Markets Post Depression

[Bryan Hancock]

I haven't seen much discussion on targeted real estate markets and I don't see this category on the forum. Rich's post caused me to wonder what RE markets everyone thinks are the best to invest in. Where are you investing and why?

What does everyone think of the Austin market? I am too close to the city to evaluate it without prejudice.

[Vikram C.]

I think the best city is going to depend on what your investing strategy is. If you are buying at trustee sales, for example, you would want a city where prices had gone up a lot during the bubble and then collapsed. If you are a landlord, you would want a city that is expected to have significant job growth over time. Some mid-western cities also seem to be good for people who buy very cheap homes and then rent them for very good cash flows, although it is not clear what the long-term trends are for those cash flows.