Best Real Estate Markets in the US?

I find it amusing to read some of the reports about which the “BEST” US real estate markets are.

Almost weekly we see some list of the best and the “worst” markets.

The big question is: BEST FOR WHAT?

As real estate investors, we obviously look at markets as buyers, with an eye towards getting great deals in solid places. It is obvious that in 2012, the strategy for the savvy real estate investor is to buy in a market that has gone down a lot, yet has good future demographic indicators. Buying low and holding for some years may then turn into a very solid investment strategy, especially since rentals are so strong (as they usually are during a downturn).

Thus the cities touted as “best” are actually some of the worst ones to actually invest in right now.

There is always a sense implied in these reports that everything has to pay off immediately, or very soon. Real estate works a bit differently - you can hold an investment for a few years and think nothing of it.

What is the better market to buy in, then? One that didn’t go down much with this recession and is already trending up and “selling high” or one that took a beating, yet for the future has excellent indicators? I believe the answer is obvious.

However I see some of the best markets for investments, such as Orlando, Phoenix, Jacksonville and Las Vegas, appear in the “worst” category, while cities that are not particularly interesting to invest in such as McAllen TX , Akron Ohio or San Jose, CA, appear in the “best” list.

As long as the knwoledgeable reader understands what is going on, it becomes evident tha tthe so-called “worst” list is quite likely the list of the very best places to invest circa 2012.