If you’re thinking about getting into real estate—or expanding your portfolio—2025 might be your year. And if you live in an expensive city, you’ve probably considered investing out of state (OOS). But with so much noise in the market, the biggest question remains: Where should you actually buy?
Whether you’re a first-time investor looking for cash flow or a seasoned buyer hunting for appreciation, knowing where to focus your search can make or break your returns. We’ll cover the best markets to watch in 2025—backed by real data and the investment fundamentals you’ve come to expect from BiggerPockets.
Let me briefly state that I look for markets that have positive job growth above all else. This is because American cities have historically been built on top of a foundation of commerce. The more businesses are attracted to an area, the more workforce will flock to the area, which then attracts more businesses, and so on, creating a positive network effect that continues to create growth (the opposite can be true as well, which can lead to what we saw happen to Detroit).
And if a market doesn’t have as solid growth metrics overall, it better be affordable and have plenty of opportunities for cash flow. High-growth markets usually aren’t as affordable, creating a trade-off between easy cash flow and potential for appreciation.
You should figure out ahead of time whether you are looking for easy cash flow, can afford to play the long game in growth markets, or are willing to invest in “hybrid” markets (which include prospects for future growth and decent appreciation while still having an affordable price point).
With that out of the way, let’s dive into the first market.
Appreciation Market: Raleigh-Durham, NC
Our first market is Raleigh, NC. This graph shows the metro’s median income growth:
Why spotlight median income? Because it’s a variable most correlated with price growth (besides total or office employment). This should make sense: As people are paid more, they have more money to bid on a house, which can drive up prices if there isn’t enough supply.
Market metrics:
- Median price: $474,000
- Median rent: $2,021
- Rent-to-price ratio: 0.43%
- Five-year job growth: 14.7%
- Median income: $62,961
- One-year price forecast*: 2.4%
*One-year price forecast, according to our data partner HouseCanary
A key factor influencing Raleigh’s growth is the Research Triangle, which comprises three colleges that offer a high number of STEM degrees (meaning the workforce is educated). It also contains the Triangle Research Park, the largest research park in the United States. Oh, and the state of North Carolina is reducing its corporate income tax rate to 0% by 2030.
Here’s what I wrote on why I think North Carolina is the next boom state.
While the Raleigh metro is still cheaper than other high-growth markets like Boise, ID, and Salt Lake City, UT, it still might be out of reach for first-time investors, so I’ll be covering more affordable metros.
Hybrid Market: Indianapolis, IN
Next is the Indianapolis, IN metro. I’ve mapped job growth to distinguish it from other popular Midwest markets (Indy has more job growth than even Columbus, OH):
You’ll notice in the graph that there’s a dip every year in January. Because logistics comprises a large portion of the workforce, once the holiday season is over, the metro experiences a seasonal drop in employment before rising throughout the rest of the year.
Market metrics:
- Median price: $270,000
- Median rent: $1,759
- Rent-to-price ratio: 0.65%
- Five-year job growth: 7.3%
- Median income: $58,146
- One-year price forecast: 3.6%
If you’d like to learn more about Indianapolis, here’s an Indy deep dive I wrote on the best neighborhoods to invest in. But if you’re pressed for time, just know there is strong growth occurring around the northeast area of the metro (such as Carmel and Fishers).
Hybrid Market: Kansas City, MO
While Kansas City, MO has solid job growth and median income, I wanted to highlight a different metric that has been improving over the past decade: vacancy rate.
The vacancy rate can be thought of as the relationship between the total number of units and the number of vacant units. Said differently, the higher the vacancy rate, the lower the demand for housing relative to supply. And a declining vacancy rate means the opposite: an increased demand for housing.
This is what we see happening with Kansas City. They just aren’t building faster than household growth.
Market metrics:
- Median price: $332,000
- Median rent: $1,963
- Rent-to-price ratio: 0.59%
- Five-year job growth: 3.6%
- Median income: $56,902
- One-year price forecast: 5.8%
You might be able to find excellent investment opportunities in suburbs such as Overland Park, Olathe, and Prairie Village.
Cash Flow Market: Memphis, TN
Now that I’ve covered an appreciation market and two hybrid markets, I’ll wrap up by covering a popular cash flow market.
In Memphis, TN, the cash flow is strong, but you should be mindful when picking neighborhoods—some blocks will have high crime, while other neighborhoods will be much safer and experience higher appreciation. It’s best to work with boots-on-the-ground professionals in this market, whether with investor-friendly real estate agents and property managers or turnkey professionals who specialize in acquiring and managing cash-flowing properties, like Rent to Retirement.
The other good news is that the market is still appreciating overall:
Market metrics:
- Median price: $246,600 (using HouseCanary data, not U.S. Census)
- Median rent: $1,597
- Rent-to-price ratio: 0.65%
- Five-year job growth: 0%
- Median income: $54,464
- One-year price forecast: 3.7%
Memphis is also one of the largest logistics hubs in the United States. White-collar jobs aren’t as bountiful here, but blue-collar jobs are always in demand.
Want Help Buying Your First Out-of-State Property?
If building a team, picking the right neighborhood, looking for deals, walking through houses for sale, dealing with contractors, and managing the property seems overwhelming to you, you don’t have to do it alone. Rent to Retirement offers turnkey investment properties that can cash flow from Day 1. Take a look at their current list of cash-flowing deals for sale here.