It’s the time of year for predictions on where to find the best property investment in 2017. In the US, Florida yet again outranks all other states in the annual Forbes Best-Buy Cities. The four Florida cities in the top ten stand out for population and employment growth plus predicted house price increases.
The annual Forbes Best-Buy Cities: Where to Invest in Housing lists 20 markets throughout the country and ranks themselves in terms of their property investment potential. For 2017, with the exception of one city, all are located in the southern half of the country. When it comes to “balancing risk and reward in real estate” Forbes says this area is “in the sweet spot now”.
Places to invest with confidence
From the 300 city markets covered by Local Market Monitor, 20 make the short list for the best property investment in 2017. Ingo Winzer CEO says they represent good markets for both family-home buyers and buy-to-let investors. “They’re markets where you are probably going to get a good return and you are not taking an extraordinary risk.”
The top 20 cities all bring together the key factors in successful property investment – population and employment growth plus the potential for a rise in house prices. For Forbes, all 20 are places where you can “park your money with some confidence in 2017 and beyond”. Importantly for the medium-term outlook, Local Market Monitor expects at least 17 per cent growth in house prices in all the cities by 2020.
Florida dominates best property investment in 2017
As was the case in 2016, Florida yet again dominates the top rankings. Although this year’s top spot is taken by Dallas, four Florida cities feature in the top seven places. For Winzer, “Florida’s continued strength is the biggest surprise of the list”.
However, for followers of the Florida property market this year’s ratings come as no surprise. The state consistently posted the highest job creation in the US throughout 2016 and population growth was steady throughout the state. And property prices in the Sunshine State still have plenty of room for growth.
Florida property to see high prices rises by 2020
In tandem with the list of cities for the best property investment in 2017, Forbes also predicts trends in house prices over the next four years for the top five cities. In general, they expect property to go up by 17 per cent across the country, but this figure is considerably higher in Florida.
In the case of Jacksonville, Forbes believes property prices will go up by 30 per cent by 2020. The prediction is only slightly lower for Orlando (28 per cent) and West Palm Beach (26 per cent).
“Florida’s dominance of the Forbes listings was no surprise to our market analysts,” says Dies Poppeliers, Managing Director of BRIC Group. “We have seen the economy consistently improve for the last few years and Florida is currently leading the US in job creation and GDP growth. We fully expect the Sunshine State to rank among the best property investment for several years yet.”
BRIC Group, an investment company specialising in global real estate opportunities, offers US real estate investments including turnkey properties in Florida and Houston, and land plots in Florida. BRIC Group is also developing The Coral resort, in Northeast Brazil, a luxury beachfront resort with land and villa investment opportunities. BRIC Group has been creating wealth for its clients since 1996 and has offices in Brazil, Dubai (consulting office), Hungary, Spain and the US.
(Source: Forbes)
