Tag: us expat looking to purchase real estate

Top 10 U.S. Cities with the Highest Rental Yield 

Highest Rental Yield

Cities across the U.S. have seen some of the highest rental yields to date. From 2020 to 2021, home sales prices rose approximately 20%. That’s great news for real estate investors that held property pre-pandemic, but with low inventory and rising rates forcing the owner-occupied borrowers out of the market, opportunities for high-yield U.S. investment properties are abundant. Here are the top 10 U.S. cities with the highest rental prices and most affordable properties.

1. Houston, Texas 

The lack of affordable single-family homes has created a demand for rental properties in Houston. Its strong job market makes it a solid play for investors of these types of properties. 

Average Purchase Price: $496,930 

Average price/sqft: $155 

Average Rental Income: $3,455 

2. Arlington, Texas 

Arlington, a city in north Texas, is ranked 12 on the list of the top places in Texas to purchase a home, according to Policygenius. At $275,745, the average house value is 6% more than the national average, and its five-year growth rate is 63.6%. 

Average Purchase Price: $493,700  

Average price/sqft: $174 

Average Rental Income: $3,035 

3. Tampa, Florida 

Investors were responsible for purchasing 25% of homes sold in Tampa in the summer of 2021. Average rents have had the highest spike in the country, and impressive job growth in white-color professions shows no signs of slowing.  

Average Purchase Price: $508,725  

Average price/sqft: $252.65 

Average Rental Income: $3,004 

4. San Antonio, Texas 

San Antonio could be an excellent investment. The city boasts affordable property prices and excellent average rental yields per month. In 2020, approximately 40% of individuals looking to rent were out-of-city transplants, which has mostly stayed the same.

Average Purchase Price: $514,975  

Average price/sqft: $170.53 

Average Rental Income: $2,951 

5. Charlotte, North Carolina 

Charlotte, North Carolina’s robust employment market, four-season climate, and proximity to the beach and mountains make it a top destination for real estate investors looking to earn rental income.  

Average Purchase Price: $498,750

Average price/sqft: $173 

Average Rental Income: $2,796 

6. Colorado Springs, Colorado 

Colorado Springs is known to be one of the most substantial long-term real estate investments in the U.S. Since the last decade, Colorado Springs’ typical property prices have increased by around 143.7% based on Zillow’s Home Value Index.  

Average Purchase Price: $487,475  

Average price/sqft: $198 

Average Rental Income: $2,770 

7. Orlando, Florida 

Home to Disney World, Universal, and a fantastic climate, 60 million people visit Orland every year. Some of the best beaches are a drive away, and the city is famous for its gold courses, nightlife, and shopping malls.  

Average Purchase Price: $482,085  

Average price/sqft: $235 

Average Rental Income: $2,739 

8. Cincinnati, Ohio 

Cincinnati has long been regarded as an affordable city in general. In fact, Cincinnati was ranked as the 14th most affordable U.S. city to live in by U.S. News & World Reports in 2017. In addition to the generally low cost of living, Cincinnati real estate is more affordable than in many other major metropolitan areas. Cincinnati has become one of the go-to markets for out-of-state real estate investors looking to buy properties at a good price and still earn a reasonable rate of return, and prices have increased as a result. 

Average Purchase Price: $474,750  

Average price/sqft: $171 

Average Rental Income: $2,734 

9. Jacksonville, Florida 

Jacksonville benefited from Florida’s decision to loosen pandemic restrictions more quickly than other states. The city has one of the highest-performing economies in the country and a dwindling unemployment rate.  

Average Purchase Price: $501,850 

Average price/sqft: $187 

Average Rental Income: $2,564 

10. Huntsville, Alabama 

Listed as one of the top cities to purchase a rental property for cash flow in 2022, Huntsville is known for its rent growth value. Strong employment growth and low housing costs have led to equity growth of about 24%, 22% more than the national average. 

Average Purchase Price: $487,250  

Average price/sqft: $171 

Average Rental Income: $2,436 

If we assume the purchase price of each city’s house to be $500,000, here’s the rank based on the highest rental income: 

Highest Rental Income

With creative loan options offering fixed terms for interest-only loans, buying down of interest rates, and long-term capital appreciation, investing in U.S. cities with the highest rental income gives you significant short-term and long-term possibilities.

Ready to reap the benefits of investing in the U.S.? 

As a company, America Mortgages’ only focus is providing U.S. mortgage financing for U.S. expats and foreign nationals. We know exactly what is required to ensure that your mortgage journey is stress-free. We qualify 97% of our client’s for a U.S. mortgage. What are you waiting for? Schedule a call with our U.S. mortgage specialist to find out your mortgage options. [email protected] 

FOMO – Time to Cash-Out!

Cash Out Refinancing

After two years of meteoric price appreciation, U.S. home prices seem to have hit their peak. U.S. mortgage rates have more than doubled since the beginning of 2022, and according to CNN, the average interest mortgage payment on a median-priced home is up 73% from one year ago. 

Recently the FED approved a 0.75-point interest rate hike, taking rates to their highest since 2008. These high-interest rates, combined with quantitative tightening, are pushing home prices down, a trend that Economists at Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo expect to continue into 2023. 

Many non-residents who own a U.S. property are hesitant about financing their U.S. real estate when mortgage interest rates are so high. However, there is more to the picture than meets the eye. With housing prices expected to continue dropping, many savvy investors are taking advantage of cash-out refinance mortgages. 

The truth is, cash-out refinancing can be a good way to improve your financial situation – we think of it as an affordable way to borrow money if you own substantial equity in your home. The money from a cash-out refinancing can even be used to rebuild equity that you’re taking out if you decide to use it on value-adding home renovations.

With the money you take out of your property when you refinance, you can do whatever you want with it. You can stay on top of an unexpected medical or vehicle bill, finish paying back your college loans, or make home repairs.

While prices have dropped by 2.6% since the end of June, according to a CNBC article, they are still 10.7% higher than in September 2021. This is the canary in the coal mine, and foreign investors would be wise to take advantage of their equity while it’s still high. 

Let’s flesh this out with an example. Imagine you purchased a home in Dallas, Texas, in 2016 for $230,000. As of November 2022, that home is valued at $460,000. 

You can take advantage of that massive increase in value before it trends down by leveraging the property and extracting a substantial amount of your equity investment. The best part? You keep your U.S. property investment and its cash flow and use the extracted funds toward a new investment.

FED Chair Jerome Powell signalled that interest rates would likely reach even higher than initial targets set in September. As the value of your investment property continues to decrease, so will the potential equity you can leverage. Consider striking while the iron is hot and lock down your property value.

Don’t miss the opportunity to utilise your equity while it remains high. Let your money make you money with America Mortgages cash-out refinancing. America Mortgages has a 97% approval rate for both U.S. Citizens & Foreign Nationals. That is our sole focus and our expertise. Contact us today to speak to one of our loan officers at [email protected].

For more details, please visit us at www.americamortgages.com

Say Yes to Using Real Estate to Hedge Against Inflation!

Hedging Inflation With Real Estate

Hedging Inflation With Real Estate

While rising inflation and increased U.S. interest rates can cause stress for many, investing in real estate can be the best approach to hedging inflation. With inflation at a nearly 40-year high and the uncertainty in the stock market, investing in real estate is decidedly one of the best approaches to hedge inflation due to the market’s lack of correlation to the volatility of stocks, bonds, and the consistent returns the investment provides.

What does it mean to hedge against inflation?

Hedging is essential to foreign national and U.S. expat investors looking to have a diversified portfolio as it provides some form of protection against losses due to the volatility of markets and inflation. An inflation hedge is an investment that attempts to offset a currency’s value or purchasing power loss. This typically means investing in a ‘real’ asset, like real estate, with a ‘real’ return, which would be your rental yield.

Real estate has an intrinsic value that can provide monthly returns, which is essential in periods of rising inflation. Therefore, as an investor, putting your money into property investment can keep you ahead of inflation and minimize losses.

Investing in real estate is your best option.

Real estate is an excellent hedge against inflation as there is intrinsic value in the property, rental yields provide consistent cash dividends, and it is less affected by the economic climate and inflation. As inflation rises, there will always be a high demand for homes, which means rental prices and yield would also increase. 

The increase in demand for rental properties and low vacancy rates allow investors to increase their rent and stay ahead of inflation. Investors looking to purchase rental properties can capitalize on the increase in demand for rent and the increase in rental prices as you have pricing power, therefore maximizing your rental yield and returns. 

Rents and property values are typically correlated with rising consumer prices, so in a period of high demand and limited supply that we currently are experiencing, real estate has shown to be a wise and profitable investment.

What about increasing mortgage and interest rates?

The rise in interest rates has shown to be beneficial to rental property owners as fewer people are looking to purchase homes and would rather rent, causing the rental demand to skyrocket, leaving real estate investors in the perfect position.

Additionally, even though mortgage rates have gone up recently, they are still historically low; this means if you are a non-resident or U.S. expat investor, now is the time to capitalize on the opportunity and invest in real estate.

With the low supply of properties and the threat of increasing mortgage rates, now is the perfect time to jump on the opportunity and purchase investment properties to add to your portfolio as the rising interest rates make it more expensive to borrow money and push people to rent rather than take out a mortgage and purchase their own property. 

If you have been toying with investing in real estate, the current economic climate shows that now is the perfect time to do so. As a company, America Mortgages’ only focus is providing U.S. mortgage financing for foreign nationals and U.S. expats. 100% of our clients live and work abroad, making us the leading expert in this space. Now is the time to make hay while the sun shines. 

If you’re considering purchasing or cashing out of U.S. real estate, we’d love to hear from you. [email protected].