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Though the state of Florida was one of the hardest-hit by the housing crisis more than a decade ago, Gainesville Florida was one of Florida’s hardest hit cities. Not only were the foreclosures and short sales growing in record numbers but local residents started moving out of town in droves—some were even outright abandoning the homes that they could no longer afford. This action made the road to recovery look long and almost impossible at times. At many times, it even seemed unlikely that a recovery would take place at all.

But, Gainesville Florida surprised everyone by rebounding back just a few short years later. Gainsville has continued to rebound and grow and has not let up since.  Employment opportunities continue to increase and new buyers flocked back into the market. Now, unemployment in Gainesville Florida is below the national average as well as is the number of foreclosures. The average sales price in Gainesville is now trending upwards almost 9% year over year.

The appeal of Gainesville Florida is not expected to slow anytime soon. The increase in local job growth and affordable housing has made the local real estate market an excellent opportunity for local investors. Properties can be purchased at below market prices and flipped for a healthy margin.

Buying, renovating, and selling homes in the state capital of Tallahassee may give your investment business—and your bank account—a nice boost as well.

A record-breaking rate of low unemployment thanks to a better-than-average growth rate for jobs landed home affordability squarely in the hands of Tallahassee residents in 2019. But, the rate of local homeownership had already been on the rise for several years. And, it may continue to rise as job seekers keep moving to town to take advantage of Tallahassee’s growing reputation as Silicone Valley South—and the high earning potential that modern tech jobs bring with them.

Already, demand for the area is so strong that Tallahassee is considered a seller’s market. Median list prices are up by nine percent year-over-year, time on the market is down to less than 60 days, and sellers are getting the prices they want.

Though that may make it sound like it’s a tough market to break into as a real estate investor, your goal isn’t to buy single-family homes on the open market anyway—only to sell them there. So, provided you can buy properties off-market and keep your rehab costs in check, you should see your 2020 returns trend upward as well.

Unlike Gainesville Florida, the foreclosure rates in the Lakeland Florida area is higher than the national average, though pre-foreclosures are on the overall decline. Unfortunately, in the city itself, foreclosure filings are still high—foreclosures are running one in every 1,373 homes.

Of course, that doesn’t touch what the Lakeland area experienced during the housing crash. But, because unemployment is high which goes hand in hand with the cost of living being low at least compared to the Tampa markets to the west, it’s clear why some residents are having a hard time making ends meet. This as always creates buying opportunities.

In the Lakeland area market, seniors make up a fairly large segment of the city’s population who may be struggling with increased popularity of the Lakeland market. This increase in popularity causes housing prices to increase and gives you the ability to take advantage of the markets popularity as a retirement destination.

Because the demand for owning a home in Lakeland is on the rise, median home list prices are up as well—by 9.5% year-over-year. And, sellers are getting more than 98% of asking. So, chances are strong that, as long as you correctly calculate all of your numbers, the returns when you sell will trend upward, too.

A good investment strategy would be to reach the homeowners who are having trouble paying their bills and offer to purchase the property at a distressed price prior to the property being foreclosed or hitting the market.