Where We’d Invest in Real Estate in 2026 (If We Could Buy Anywhere)

These are the best markets to buy rental properties right now in early twenty twenty six. If your local market is too expensive or you're hunting for a new city with serious profit potential, deciding where to invest is arguably the single biggest choice to make as an investor. So today, we're breaking down exactly where smart real estate investors should be looking for new properties right now. We've crunched the numbers, and in this episode, we're gonna unveil nine prime spots across the country where you should consider buying property today. What's going on, everyone? I'm Dave Meyer, head of real estate investing at BiggerPockets. On today's episode, we're giving you our list of best investing markets right now, and this is always one of our most popular episodes of the year. So we're back in January 2026 with an updated edition. The timing right now really couldn't be better for refreshing our market recommendations because the real estate landscape shifting pretty fast right now, and investing conditions are really diverging. They're wildly different in different regions of the country. So figuring out the right place to invest is more important than ever. So in today's show, I'm gonna highlight several markets that have caught my attention personally. But on the show, we also have host of The Real Estate Rookie Show, Ashley Kerr, joining us. And, of course, we also have Henry here as well to share his picks. Ashley, Henry, good to see you both. Thank you so much for having me. Hey. Glad to be here. Thank you. Alright. Well, let's just get straight into it. We're each going to cover three different markets. I don't know why this is just the format that we made up last year, and it's been very successful. So three is the magic number. And, Henry, I'm gonna pick on you. You gotta go first. So so name your first market. Which one caught your eye? I choose my markets based on that they have cash flow potential where you could potentially get a deal on the market. So I'm looking for a solid rent to price ratio, and and I'm looking for the median housing price to be in an air quotes affordable range. If I can get a solid rent to price ratio and an affordable home price, that tells me there's probably deal availability on the market should you choose to. Because I want most people to be able to have access to buy deals here. I don't wanna just pick markets where you gotta go off market. Awesome. Alright. So tell us what you found. First market I picked is Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I couldn't tell you a single thing about it. That's the response I was expecting. That's what you want. That's what you want. But I choose this market, a, it's a college town. B, it's got a high rent to price ratio. It's got relatively low vacancy for a smallish metropolitan area, and it's …