The October 2026 report on the best U.S. housing markets to invest in found that Syracuse, New York, is the top spot for real estate investors heading into next year. Pairing each metro’s home value forecast with the rent a typical single-family home brings in, a new study by Freedom Debt Relief shows where investors can expect rising prices and solid rental income.
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- Syracuse, New York, is the best U.S. housing market to invest in for 2027, with the fastest projected rise in home values at 5.2%.
- Jobs are being added in the Wichita, Kansas, area at one of the fastest paces among big U.S. housing markets.
- Of the large U.S. metros, only Syracuse has seen home values climb more since 2021 than Hartford, Connecticut.
The research examined 100 of the largest U.S. metro housing markets to find the best places to buy investment property for 2027. The report looked at each market’s home value forecast through September 2027 and its gross rental yield: a year of asking rent measured against the typical home value, before costs. It measured five-year home value growth, rent growth over the past year, population and job growth, and how much competition buyers face. These figures were combined into a single score out of 100, showing which markets give investors the best mix of price growth and rent.
Here’s how the best US real estate markets compare:
| Market | 2027 Forecast (%) | Home Value ($) | Est. Gross Yield (%) | Monthly Rent ($) |
| Syracuse, NY | 5.2 | 268,983 | 9.90 | 2,219 |
| Wichita, KS | 3.9 | 223,188 | 7.51 | 1,398 |
| Hartford, CT | 3.3 | 421,910 | 7.38 | 2,594 |
| Winston-Salem, NC | 2.4 | 280,723 | 7.73 | 1,809 |
| New Haven, CT | 2.8 | 433,257 | 8.13 | 2,935 |
| Rochester, NY | 4.2 | 281,678 | 9.09 | 2,134 |
| Charleston, SC | 1.0 | 439,170 | 7.04 | 2,575 |
| McAllen, TX | 0.9 | 189,962 | 11.10 | 1,756 |
| Omaha, NE | 2.8 | 307,731 | 7.79 | 1,996 |
| Boise City, ID | 3.3 | 493,649 | 5.68 | 2,336 |
You can access the full report findings by following this link.
1. Syracuse, New York
- 2027 forecast: 5.2%
- Home value: $268.9K
- Estimated gross yield: 9.9%
- Monthly rent: $2,219
Syracuse, New York, is the No. 1 U.S. housing market for investors in 2027. Home values in the metro are forecast to rise 5.2% by September 2027, the biggest projected gain of any large U.S. market, and that comes on top of a 48.1% climb since 2021 that no other major metro matched. For a landlord, twelve months of asking rent on a typical single-family home there brings in almost a tenth of what the home is worth, the second-highest gross rental yield among large metros.
2. Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas, comes in second among the best markets for real estate investors in 2027. Prices in the Wichita area are expected to climb 3.9% over the next year, and the metro ranks third among large markets on both that forecast and the pace of job growth. Those job gains come in a metro whose population rose in the year to July 2025. The typical Wichita house is valued at $223.1K, less than in Syracuse, and an owner who bought one in 2021 now has a home worth $51.4K more than it was then.
3. Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut, ranks third among the best metros for buying investment property in 2027. A typical Hartford house worth $294.5K in 2021 is valued at $421.9K today, a bigger five-year rise than in any large metro except Syracuse. Hartford’s forecast for home values over the twelve months sits in the top 10 among big metros. Asking rents rose 5.7% over the past year, too, a pace only a handful of major U.S. markets topped.
4. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
In fourth place is Winston-Salem. Investors shopping for a property there find a less heated market for listings than in Wichita, and the year-ahead outlook calls for home values to keep moving up. The metro is adding both people and jobs: it had 6,869 more residents in July 2025 than a year earlier, and payroll jobs rose 1.3% in a year. Landlords in Winston-Salem see a gross rental yield of 7.7% on the typical house in the metro.
5. New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut, rounds out the top five markets for property investors in 2027. Landlords here charge $2,935 a month for a standard single-family rental. Measured against home values, that rent produces a gross yield of 8.1%, higher than in Hartford. A tenant in a typical New Haven home now pays $149 more each month than at the same point a year ago. The metro’s home prices, which have climbed at the fourth-fastest five-year rate among major markets, are expected to keep rising over the coming year.
