Markets Attracting Most Out-of-State Investors

Key Highlights

• COVID pandemic has shifted location pecking order for out-of-state real estate investors
• Affordability and overlooked markets are in
• Counties outside of major metros with populations of 60K to 200K and counties that home to army base/facility are in, according to com

Many look to savvy real estate investors as forward-seeing barometers of the axiom “buy low, sell high.” Even before the COVID pandemic took off, real estate investors began seeking out affordable and overlooked markets. Regardless of where these investors lived themselves, their searches translated into areas outside of high cost, high-density urban strongholds and inside low-cost areas with populations between 60,000 and 200,000, often near army home bases or facilities.

Auction.com has put together a compilation of real estate markets where out-of-state investors have been and are currently purchasing distressed properties since COVID took off. Not only were these investors willing to buy immediately after and since uncertainty became the norm, they were willing to look beyond their immediate living areas to places lacking investment with the potential to actualize trends such as Millennial suburbanization sparked by the pandemic.

Here are Auction.com’s top 5 counties for out-of-state buyers:

1. Comanche County, Oklahoma

   1. 80 miles south of Oklahoma City and some 200 miles north of Dallas-Fort Work, Comanche County’s population in 2019 was some 120,800, according to the Census Bureau. Since 2019, it has had its largest population growth spurt since 2012 and that growth spurt has only been accelerating through in 2020.
   2. 75% of its REO properties sold so far in 2020 at online REO auction have gone to out-of-state buyers , up from 45% in 2019 and 29% in 2018.
   3. Average sale price – $28,240 – $20.10/sq. foot

2. Calhoun County, Alabama
   1. With a population of approximately 113,600, Calhoun County is located some 70 miles east of Birmingham and 100 miles west of Atlanta. Its county seat is in Anniston, home to the Anniston Army Depot
   2. 60% of REO properties acquired at REO auction thus far in 2020 have gone to out-of-state buyers, up from 20% in 2019 and 50% in 2018.
   3. Average sale price – $30,800 – $24.10/sq. foot
3. Richmond County, Georgia
   1. Richmond County is home to the city of Augusta and the most populous among these listed top five counties at some 202,550. August is some 150 miles southeast of Atlanta and 160 miles northwest of Charleston SC, Fort Gordon US Army Base is located here.
   2. Auction.com indicates that 56% of all REO properties sold via auction here during 2020 went to out-of-state byers, up from 22% in 2019 and 31% in 2018.
   3. Average sale price – $67,900 – $41.00/sq. foot
4. Salem County, New Jersey
   1. Least populated of these listed top five counties at 62,400 in 2019 and located just 45 miles southwest of Philadelphia and 120 miles northeast of Washington DC.
   2. 56% of REO properties sold at online auction went to out-of-state buyers, a decrease from 60% in 2019
   3. Average sale price – $70, 405 – $44.90/sq. foot
5. Rock Island County, IL
   1. Rock Island County is home to two of the four cities making up the Quad Cities on Illinois-Iowa border. Population in 2019 of 141,879, according to Census Bureau, down slightly from 2018. The Rock Island Arsenal, the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal is located here.
   2. 54% of all REO properties sold at online REO auction were purchased by out-of-state buyers so far in 2020, up from 40% in 2019 and 42% in 2018.
   3. Average sale price – $45,719 – $35.40/sq. foot

Thanks to Auction.com and HousingWire.

URGENT: 2021 Results Released. New FREE On-Line Web Event Reveals 17 Surprising Secrets Of The Top 100 Millionaire Agents. Get Your FREE Spot For The On-Line Webinar Now. When You Attend This Event You Will Have A Sense Of Relief Knowing You Can FINALLY Laugh At Your Money Worries – If You Follow This Simple Plan. Learn How To Generate 100’s of Motivated Leads Without Coming Off As A Pushy Salesperson and Losing Your Soul. Learn Now How To Become One of the 1000s of Agents Making HUGE Money NOW Who Never Thought They Could.