Almost everyone who wants to get into real estate investing starts the same way: scrolling listings, looking for a cheap house. That's the wrong first move. Before you look at a single property, you have to decide which market you're going to invest in — because the market determines whether you can even tell what a house is worth, and whether anyone will be there to buy it when you're finished.
This is the step nobody teaches beginners. Most real estate investing advice jumps straight to finding motivated sellers, estimating repair costs, and calculating profit. Those skills matter. But they all rest on two assumptions: that you can find out what a property is actually worth, and that there's a buyer waiting at the end.
In a large share of U.S. counties, neither assumption holds.
This guide shows you how to choose a market first, how to tell a good one from a bad one, and where those markets are in the 39 states where we help investors find, fund, and flip. At the end you can download a free map that does the filtering for you.
Yes, if:
Probably not, if:
If you're experienced, you'll find this foundational — that's intentional. Our funding page is a better use of your time.
When investors say market, they don't mean a city's borders. They mean an economic area — a population center plus the surrounding communities tied to it by commuting and commerce.
The federal government already defines these. The Office of Management and Budget delineates them and the Census Bureau maps them. Collectively they're called Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs), and they come in two sizes:
Both are made up of entire counties, which is convenient, because county is the unit your MLS, your title company, and your assessor all work in.
As of July 2023 there are 393 metro areas (13 of them large enough to be split into 37 metropolitan divisions) and 542 micropolitan areas in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. That's 935 markets.
People hear "invest in metro areas" and assume they're priced out of everything. They're not. Micro areas are small towns with affordable inventory. What the definition rules out is the truly rural county with no population core — and that's precisely where new investors get hurt.
The most important number in any flip is After Repair Value (ARV) — what the property will be worth once renovated. Everything depends on it: your maximum offer, your profit projection, your loan amount, your list price. If your ARV is off by 10%, a profitable deal becomes a break-even deal. Off by 20% and you're bringing money to closing.
You establish ARV with comparable sales — "comps." Similar houses nearby that recently sold. You're not guessing what someone might pay; you're observing what buyers actually paid.
The standard we use is deliberately conservative: find three recently sold comps and three comparable homes currently listed, then use the lowest. A real comp is in the same neighborhood or subdivision, within about 250 square feet, within five to ten years in age, and similar in construction and condition.
Now try hitting that standard in a county that records forty sales a year across 600 square miles and every house style built since 1910.
You can't. And beginners rarely fail by refusing to find comps — they fail by quietly lowering the bar until something qualifies:
If you're loosening your comp standards to make a deal work, that's not a research problem. That's the market telling you something.
There's a second trap at the finish line. When your buyer uses a mortgage, their appraiser has to find the same comps you couldn't. They'll be forced into wide geographic and condition adjustments, and appraisers under pressure adjust downward. A low appraisal kills your sale or forces a price cut straight out of your profit.
Planning to fix and hold with the BRRR method? Same trap, different room. The whole strategy depends on a refinance appraisal coming in high enough to pull your money back out. In thin markets, refinances come back short and your cash stays trapped.
Beginners think flipping is a renovation business. It's a resale business that happens to involve renovation. You don't get paid when the last cabinet goes in — you get paid at closing, and every day in between costs you money.
The buyer pool is arithmetic. Housing units in the area, times the local annual turnover rate, divided by twelve. That's roughly how many buyers transact per month across all price points and property types. Now ask how many of those want a renovated three-bedroom in your price band, in your neighborhood.
In a mid-size metro, that's a comfortable number. In a county of 9,000 people it can round to nearly zero in a given month. You're not competing for buyers — you're waiting for one to exist, while paying interest, taxes, insurance, utilities, and lawn care.
Rentals carry the same risk in different clothing. Small rural markets often run on a single employer: one plant, one hospital, one prison, one college. Your tenant pool and your future buyer pool are the same people drawing the same paychecks. When that employer cuts a shift, vacancy, rents, and resale value all move the wrong way together.
Contractors: no competition means no leverage. In a metro or micro area you get three bids — that's how you learn what work actually costs and keep a contractor honest on schedule. In a rural county you may find one contractor willing to make the drive, and that one bid is the price. No leverage, no backup, no bench when a sub walks. Schedule risk hurts more than price risk, because every extra week is another week of interest.
Appraisers run on their own clock. Rural appraisal turn times stretch because fewer appraisers cover more ground and each assignment takes longer — for the same reason yours did. Some won't accept work outside their geographic competency at all, so the order just sits.
By comparison, our team returns a Desktop Evaluation in two business days and an On-Site Evaluation in three, because we can put a licensed local agent in front of the property. The further you are from a population center, the harder that gets — for us, for your lender, and for your buyer's lender.
They are, and there's less investor competition. Both true.
But a low purchase price doesn't protect you when you can't establish value and can't find an exit. A $70,000 house where you're wrong about ARV by $25,000 and sit for nine months is worse than a $220,000 house in a market with six solid comps and a buyer every week.
Plenty of investors do well in rural markets. Almost all of them live there. They know the corner house sold low because it backs the creek, they've used the same three subs for a decade, and they know which of the four buyers in town just got engaged. That's local knowledge substituting for market data, and it takes years to build. On your first deal, the map is the better filter.
We help investors find, fund, and flip in 39 states plus Washington, D.C. Below is every state we serve, with examples of the metro and micro markets inside it. Use this to orient yourself, then use the map to check any specific county.
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State |
Example metro markets |
Example micro markets |
|---|---|---|
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Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa |
Cullman, Scottsboro, Talladega–Sylacauga, Alexander City |
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Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma |
Show Low, Safford, Nogales, Payson |
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Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway, Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, Fort Smith, Jonesboro |
Russellville, Searcy, Harrison, Paragould |
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Denver–Aurora–Centennial, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins–Loveland, Pueblo |
Cañon City, Durango, Montrose, Sterling |
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Hartford–West Hartford–East Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport–Stamford–Danbury |
Torrington area, Willimantic area |
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Dover, Wilmington (Philadelphia metro division) |
Seaford |
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Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Jacksonville, Cape Coral–Fort Myers, Lakeland–Winter Haven, Ocala |
Okeechobee, Palatka, Clewiston, Key West–Key Largo |
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Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell, Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, Macon–Bibb County, Warner Robins |
Milledgeville, Moultrie, Toccoa, Waycross |
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Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, Peoria, Rockford, Springfield, Champaign–Urbana, Decatur |
Galesburg, Ottawa, Effingham, Quincy |
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Indianapolis–Carmel–Greenwood, Fort Wayne, South Bend–Mishawaka, Evansville, Elkhart–Goshen |
Kokomo, Muncie, Richmond, Marion |
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Des Moines–West Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Waterloo–Cedar Falls, Sioux City |
Ottumwa, Fort Dodge, Mason City, Muscatine |
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Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan |
Salina, Hutchinson, Dodge City, Emporia |
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Louisville/Jefferson County, Lexington–Fayette, Bowling Green, Owensboro, Elizabethtown |
Somerset, Richmond–Berea, Madisonville, Frankfort |
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New Orleans–Metairie, Baton Rouge, Shreveport–Bossier City, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe |
Ruston, Opelousas, Natchitoches, Morgan City |
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Portland–South Portland, Bangor, Lewiston–Auburn |
Augusta–Waterville |
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Baltimore–Columbia–Towson, Hagerstown–Martinsburg, Salisbury, Lexington Park |
Cumberland, Easton, Cambridge, Ocean Pines |
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Boston–Cambridge–Newton, Worcester, Springfield, Barnstable Town, Pittsfield |
Vineyard Haven, Nantucket, Greenfield |
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Detroit–Warren–Dearborn, Grand Rapids–Wyoming–Kentwood, Lansing–East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Flint, Kalamazoo–Portage |
Traverse City, Adrian, Mount Pleasant, Cadillac |
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Jackson, Gulfport–Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Meridian |
Tupelo, Starkville, Vicksburg, Oxford |
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St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia, Joplin, Jefferson City, Cape Girardeau |
Branson, Sedalia, Rolla, Poplar Bluff |
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Billings, Missoula, Great Falls, Bozeman, Helena |
Kalispell, Butte–Silver Bow |
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Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island |
Kearney, North Platte, Scottsbluff, Norfolk |
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Manchester–Nashua, Rockingham–Strafford (Boston metro division) |
Concord, Keene, Laconia, Lebanon–Claremont |
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Newark and Jersey City (New York metro divisions), Trenton–Princeton, Atlantic City–Hammonton, Vineland |
— |
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Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Farmington |
Roswell, Hobbs, Clovis, Carlsbad–Artesia |
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New York–Newark–Jersey City, Buffalo–Cheektowaga, Rochester, Albany–Schenectady–Troy, Syracuse, Binghamton, Utica–Rome |
Olean, Cortland, Oneonta, Plattsburgh |
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Charlotte–Concord–Gastonia, Raleigh–Cary, Greensboro–High Point, Durham–Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, Asheville, Wilmington |
Kinston, Lumberton, Mount Airy, Shelby–Kings Mountain |
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Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton–Kettering–Beavercreek, Akron, Toledo, Canton–Massillon, Youngstown–Warren |
Zanesville, Chillicothe, Wooster, New Philadelphia–Dover |
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Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton, Enid |
Stillwater, Muskogee, Ardmore, Bartlesville |
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Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington, Pittsburgh, Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton, Harrisburg–Carlisle, Lancaster, York–Hanover, Reading, Erie, Scranton–Wilkes-Barre |
Pottsville, Sunbury, Meadville, DuBois |
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Providence–Warwick |
Newport |
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Charleston–North Charleston, Columbia, Greenville–Anderson–Greer, Myrtle Beach–Conway, Spartanburg, Florence |
Orangeburg, Greenwood, Seneca, Gaffney |
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Nashville–Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Johnson City, Kingsport–Bristol |
Cookeville, Crossville, Sevierville, Dyersburg |
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Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, San Antonio–New Braunfels, Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Waco, Tyler, Abilene |
Nacogdoches, Lufkin, Brownwood, Sulphur Springs |
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Virginia Beach–Chesapeake–Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Winchester |
Danville, Martinsville, Staunton–Stuarts Draft |
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Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, Spokane–Spokane Valley, Kennewick–Richland, Olympia–Lacey–Tumwater, Yakima, Bellingham |
Moses Lake, Walla Walla, Aberdeen, Port Angeles |
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Washington–Arlington–Alexandria |
— |
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Charleston, Huntington–Ashland, Morgantown, Parkersburg–Vienna, Wheeling, Beckley |
Clarksburg, Fairmont, Elkins, Bluefield |
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Milwaukee–Waukesha, Madison, Green Bay, Appleton, Racine–Mount Pleasant, Oshkosh–Neenah, Eau Claire |
Beaver Dam, Baraboo, Manitowoc, Rice Lake |
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Cheyenne, Casper |
Laramie, Gillette, Rock Springs, Sheridan |
States we don't currently serve: California, Nevada, Utah, Alaska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Oregon, Idaho, and Hawaii. We're working to open these.
Every state above contains multiple qualifying markets, which means your first deal almost certainly doesn't require relocating. If you live in one of these states, there's probably a metro or micro market within driving distance.
Print it. Pin it where you underwrite. Run this on every deal, in order:
Most bad deals die at step one or step three — which is exactly where you want them to die, before your money is in.
You don't need experience. You don't need perfect credit — hard money lenders weigh the deal far more heavily than the borrower. And you don't need the full purchase price, because we fund up to 100% of deals with enough equity built in.
What you do need is some cash set aside. Even on a fully funded deal there are real costs along the way: earnest money, inspections, property evaluations, and a reserve for the surprises every renovation produces. The investors who get their first deal closed are the ones who have a working cushion, not the ones who got lucky. With more available, you also get more flexibility — you can pursue solid deals that don't quite hit the 100% threshold instead of waiting for a perfect one to appear.
The common thread among our members isn't a bank balance. It's that they picked a market, followed a process, and kept making offers after the first few were rejected.
How do I become a real estate investor with no experience? Start by choosing a market rather than a property. Learn to establish After Repair Value using comparable sales, learn to estimate repair costs, then make offers only in markets with enough sales activity to support both. Education, deal-finding software, and funding can be assembled in one place so you're not learning every piece alone.
What's the difference between a metropolitan and a micropolitan area? A metro area is built around an urban core of 50,000 or more people. A micro area is built around a core between 10,000 and 50,000. Both are composed of whole counties and both are defined by the federal government.
Which states can I invest in with The Investor's Edge? 39 states plus Washington, D.C. See the table above for the full list and the markets inside each one.
Do I have to invest where I live? No, but your first deal is easier close to home. If your city sits in a metro or micro area, start there. If not, look at the nearest shaded county on the map.
How many comps do I need before I trust an ARV? Three recently sold plus three currently listed, then use the lowest. If you can't find that many without loosening your standards, treat it as a warning about the market rather than a problem to solve.
Is a micropolitan area big enough to flip in? Yes. Micro areas have a real population core, a functioning MLS, multiple contractors, and steady sales activity — everything the process needs. Many of our members work exclusively in micro markets.
Can I invest in real estate while working full time? Many of our members do. One to two focused hours a day is enough to learn the process and work deals while keeping your income.
Can I get funding with bad credit? Your credit score doesn't determine whether you qualify with us. The deal matters more than the borrower.
We've prepared a print-ready wall map of every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the United States and Puerto Rico: 393 metros, 37 metropolitan divisions, and 542 micros, county by county, current as of July 2023.
It's the fastest go/no-go filter you can put in front of a deal, and it costs nothing.
Once you've chosen a market worth your time, that's where we come in. The Investor's Edge brings education, deal-finding software, and funding together in one place, so someone with no experience can go from "I don't know where to start" to a closed deal with a team checking the numbers at every step. We verify value on every deal before a dollar goes out — conservatively and transparently — because we'd rather tell you no on a bad deal than watch you lose money on one.
The Investor's Edge is a real estate investing company. This article is educational and is not investment, legal, tax, or appraisal advice. Real estate investing carries risk, including loss of principal. Individual results vary; see our full earnings disclaimer for details on reported member profit figures.