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If you\u2019ve invested in real estate this decade \u2014 particularly residential properties \u2014 you probably made out pretty well, with median home prices seeing healthy growth.<\/p>\n
Whether that growth is sustainable in the future is no sure thing, however. Here are four of the worst cities to invest<\/a> in property right now, according to Dani Beit-Or, founder and CEO of Simply Do It<\/a>, a real estate investment firm.<\/p>\n Also see how to diversify your portfolio with real estate<\/a>.<\/p>\n Austin, Texas<\/p>\n Median home price (January 2026): $499,950<\/p>\n Comparison to national median: 18% higher<\/p>\n Effective property tax rate (Travis County, 2023): 1.5355%<\/p>\n Home prices in Austin are 18% higher that the national median, and property taxes<\/a> in Texas rank among the highest in the country, according to Rocket Mortgage<\/a>. Those are two big reasons you might not want to buy property in Austin right now.<\/p>\n \u201cAustin used to be everyone\u2019s go-to investment market. Then competition increased, prices ran up, and returns came down,\u201d Beit-Or told GOBankingRates. \u201cDeals still exist, but they\u2019re harder to find, and margins are much tighter than they used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Read More: 5 College Towns Where Buying a House Creates Long-Term Passive Income<\/a><\/p>\n Find Out: How Middle-Class Earners Are Quietly Becoming Millionaires \u2014 and How You Can, Too<\/a><\/p>\n Irvine, California<\/p>\n Median home price (January 2026): $1.42 million<\/p>\n Comparison to national median: 235% higher<\/p>\n Effective property tax rate (Orange County, 2023): 0.6659%<\/p>\n Irvine is located in one of the most expensive areas of the country, and if you don\u2019t have a lot of money to invest in property, you\u2019re better off looking somewhere else.<\/p>\n Beit-Or has firsthand knowledge, being a resident of Orange County who \u201cloves\u201d living there.<\/p>\n \u201cBut as an investment market, it\u2019s a hard pass,\u201d he said. \u201cPrices are extremely high, cash flow is usually low or negative, and tenant laws strongly favor renters. It\u2019s a fantastic place to live<\/a>, but not a great place to invest.\u201d<\/p>\n Oklahoma City<\/p>\n Median home price (January 2026): $258,825<\/p>\n Comparison to national median: 39% lower<\/p>\n Effective property tax rate (Oklahoma County, 2023): 0.9841%<\/p>\n If your goal is affordable housing<\/a>, then Oklahoma City is a good option. But if you\u2019re looking for strong investment returns, you might want to steer clear.<\/p>\n \u201cMetro Oklahoma City is a tricky one,\u201d Beit-Or said. \u201cWhen investors look at it, they think it checks a lot of good boxes. But what they don\u2019t see and don\u2019t measure is its performance over many years.\u201d<\/p>\n In this case, \u201cperformance\u201d refers to price appreciation and rent appreciation over the past 20-odd years \u2014 and Oklahoma City falls short on both counts.<\/p>\n \u201cMetro Oklahoma City has consistently performed at the lowest price appreciation and rental appreciation compared to all the others, and it has been very consistently doing so,\u201d Beit-Or said.<\/p>\n Raleigh, North Carolina<\/p>\n Median home price (January 2026): $395,000<\/p>\n Comparison to national median: 7% lower<\/p>\n Effective property tax rate (Wake County, 2023): 0.715%<\/p>\n Raleigh has been a hot housing market for many years thanks to its status as a major hub for higher education, technology and government. The problem for investors is that \u201chot\u201d real estate markets don\u2019t always equal \u201cprofitable\u201d ones.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch like Austin, heavy competition pushed prices up too quickly in Raleigh,\u201d Beit-Or said. \u201cThat has squeezed margins, and for me, that\u2019s a problem. I want cash flow on day one, and Raleigh doesn\u2019t consistently provide that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s note: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Always consider your individual circumstances and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.<\/p>\n The median home prices listed are from Redfin<\/a>. Property tax rates are from the Tax Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n More From GOBankingRates<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>: I\u2019m a Real Estate Investor: These Are the Worst Cities To Buy Property Right Now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BackyardProduction \/ iStock.com If you\u2019ve invested in real estate this decade \u2014 particularly residential properties \u2014 you probably…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,68634,59515,68633,68632,6378,23153,2063,23262],"class_list":["post-169611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-investment-market","tag-median-home-price","tag-median-home-prices","tag-national-median","tag-oklahoma-city","tag-orange-county","tag-property-taxes","tag-real-estate-investment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}