What makes Huntsville such a great place to invest? For one, the city is on the move. It continues to grow and is on track to become Alabama’s largest city within the next few years. Huntsville has generated more than 62 percent of the jobs in the state in the past decade.
Huntsville is also affordable. The cost of living is 5% lower than the national average, with the greatest factor being the cost of housing. The charts below from payscale.com provide a comparison:
Huntsville is smart, with more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. The education level of Huntsville ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Huntsville, 41.48% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree. According to the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, the Huntsville metro area has the highest per capita concentration of engineers in the country.
But why is Huntsville such an attraction for investors? Some investors won’t even consider investing in real estate in an area with less than 500,000 residents. This is not because of amenities, (high amenity small towns are everywhere) but because small towns have a limited depth of economy and access to high-paying jobs. Huntsville is a major exception to this rule. Professional, scientific, technical services, and healthcare jobs make up the largest portion of the Huntsville workforce (27.4%), with employees at Redstone Arsenal, NASA, and many of the aerospace and biotech companies in the area, as well as three major hospitals. The chart below from neighborhoodscout.com identifies salaries by occupation in Huntsville.
Investing in Huntsville real estate is prudent on multiple levels. USAToday.com identifies Alabama as second only to Hawaii for the nation’s lowest property tax rate, with an effective tax rate of 0.48% and an average property tax of $776 annually. According to ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database, the median home sales price in Huntsville is $165,900, with an appreciation rate of 5.3% from last year for Q3 2018. This is still quite affordable compared to the national median home sale price of $255,000 and national home appreciation rate of only 4.8%. Median rentals in Huntsville increased nearly $100 in the past twelve months to a median of $995. Huntsville is also identified as one of the few places in the country where wages are outpacing home price appreciation values.
These factors attract both local and out-of-state investors to the Huntsville real estate market, from acquisitions, to flips, to rental properties. For any investor, maximizing profits and expanding their portfolio is critical to the big picture. The challenge is in knowing the local market, accomplishing the day-to-day tasks, and handling both major emergencies and minor details. That’s where Valley Homes Property Management comes in. We offer a full range of real estate management services tailored to you as an investor, homeowner, or landlord. If you’re ready to invest in Huntsville, contact us today to get started!
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