FSBO Jane

I often come across articles or blogs that inform readers of where the best places to buy a house are. After reading them, I think to myself, how can an article tell me where I should live? Sure, it can tell me where crime levels are low and job availability is high, but it can’t possibly know where I’ll be happy and comfortable.

Investment purchases are a different story. With an investment, you won’t be living in the house. You don’t even need to be near the house. You also don’t know what type of person will move into the house, so you can’t possibly try to find a place that fits that person’s needs. What you do need to know is what cities are currently drawing potential renters to them.

That is what a recent article informs you, from MSN Money. Now is the time to invest, and these are the top 10 places to do it:

• Asheville, North Carolina: a mountain town with an artsy atmosphere; home prices are up 35 percent in the past five years!
• Park City, Utah: winter retreat for skiers and sports enthusiasts, with home prices up between 5 and 7 percent this year.
• Ashland, Oregon: a town with beautiful weather and scenery, between two great cities, and with home prices up 40 to 70 percent in the past 10 years!
• Port Townsend, Washington: quaint, historic seaport with mild weather, which has boomed with popularity since the 1990s.
• Beaufort, South Carolina: famous as the setting in numerous movies, this ocean-lined town is famous for its fishing and its shrimp.
• South Lake Tahoe, California: the sister town of the famed Lake Tahoe, Nev., this town shares the largest alpine lake and shows off a huge recent renovation. Home sales are up 21 percent from last year.
• Daytona Beach, Florida: notorious for the annual Daytona 500 race that takes place at its international raceway; home prices are up 44 percent in the last five years and 9 percent in the last year alone.
• Sunriver, Oregon: centrally located to numerous nearby attractions, this town is known for its whitewater rafting, hiking and skiing; some home prices have nearly doubled in the past eight years!
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: this tourist-rich location draws 14 million visitors to its highly rated beaches and its 120 golf courses; home prices annually raise around 8 percent.
• Charlevoix, Michigan: this city brings over 27,000 summer residents to its lake shores and golf courses; only 8,500 out of 30,000 summer residents are full-time. Hello, investments!

The article also provides 10 up-and-coming investment cities to keep an eye on, and if you’re not interested in these cities, it tells you what you should look for when searching for your own investment-rich city. Read the whole article here.