The two states of Texas and Florida dominate the Forbes Where to invest in 2015 list with Houston and Orlando property featuring in the top five. The two cities stand out for their high population growth, strong job creation and undervalued property prices. As a result, Houston and Orlando are “safe bets to invest”, for both first-time buyers and buy-to-let investors.
In their annual look at the US property market, Forbes and Local Market Monitor examined 105 cities in the US with a population of at least 550,000 to find the locations with the best potential for property investment. According to Forbes, the key to successful investment is to “buy in cities with strong job growth that people are moving to so that the stock of potential tenants for would-be landlords is abundant”. With this criteria in mind, the survey finds that Houston and Orlando tick all the boxes.
Houston takes third position in the national table. In this Texan city, Forbes report that the population has grown by 6.2 per cent and job creation by 4.1 per cent. Houston property prices have experienced annual increases of 12 per cent and now stand at an average of US$214,049. Despite the recent price hikes, Forbes find that property in Houston is undervalued by 7 per cent. The economic prospects for Houston are good, according to Forbes, because the city has a diverse economy and isn’t excessively reliant on oil prices.
Orlando sits just behind Houston in the table in fourth position. The Disney capital also brings together the criteria of growing population and employment. Orlando’s population has grown by 6 per cent and jobs by 3.6 per cent. This has led to a rise in house prices and property in Orlando has gone up by 9 per cent annually, according to Forbes, with the average house price now standing at US$187,568. Like Houston, Orlando property is also undervalued, although by 13 per cent, considerably higher than the Texan city.
Between them, Texas and Florida dominate the top property investment positions in 2015 in Forbes’ Where to invest in 2015. Texas occupies five of the top 20 rankings including Austin in prime position. Florida comes a close second with four candidates for safe investment in 2015. As well as Orlando in fourth place, North Port stands in 14th, West Palm Beach in 15th and Jacksonville in 16th.
Source: Forbes
