When it comes to investing in properties, usually people prefer bigger and expensive cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver etc but in today’s economy when the new jobs are being created at the lower end hence people do not have the financial muscle to invest in expensive properties.

Rather they would prefer to live on rent rather than buying properties in expensive cities, so there is more demand for rental properties in big cities.

So, we want to assist you with your decision to make the best investment with lesser risk and high potential gains. Let’s look at some of the factors that you must take into consideration before loosening the purse strings.

First major factor to take into consideration is whether your target investment city has population between quarter of a million and 1 million. You must also see, if there has been a consistent population growth rate of around 20% over a period of say 18 years. A website like city-data.com can help you with your research. A good example is Columbus, Ohio, which has enjoyed an extremely healthy growth rate of 23% from 2001 to 2017.

Along with population growth, there should be a healthy rise in the median household income, creating a substantial base of potential home buyers. So an increase of 30% in the median household income is considered very good, with great potential possibilities.

As compared to expensive cities, where home prices climb up and stays at a peak, the only change that might happen is towards south, you should look at the cities where there is a growth of 40% in the median house or condo value.

One of the major factors that makes a place livable is the decline in the crime rate. So you can use city-data.com to see if there is a consistent decline in the crime rate in a place over a period of say 18 years.

Then you must also look at the growth of the jobs since the past 12 months in your target investment city because it is wise to invest in a place where lots of people are getting employed, they are moving in the city and looking at new place to stay in large numbers.

So, considering present economy, it is wise to play smart when it comes to investing for good returns and even laugh your way to the bank.