AD Mortgage Study Highlights The Best Places For Real Estate Investing

AD Mortgage, a wholesale lender, released its new study, U.S. Real Estate Investment Opportunities by State.  South Carolina leads the nation for growth-oriented real estate investment conditions while Idaho ranks first for income-oriented conditions, and North Dakota takes the top spot for market fundamentals, according to a new AD Mortgage study.

The study evaluates all 50 states and Washington, D.C., through three distinct investor profiles: Growth, Income, and Fundamental. Each looks at a different set of market characteristics, from demographic and economic expansion to rental economics and long-term market stability. The findings show why a single ranking of the “best” states can overlook important differences in what investors prioritize.

Idaho, for example, ranks first for Income Investors and second for Growth Investors, but falls to 40th in the Fundamental Investor ranking. North Dakota follows the opposite pattern, leading in fundamentals while ranking 45th for growth and 49th for income.

“The data shows why investors shouldn’t simply ask, ‘What’s the best state to invest in?’ A market that looks attractive for growth can look very different when the goal is rental income or long-term stability. The real opportunity is in matching the market to the investor’s strategy,” said Max Slyusarchuk, CEO of AD Mortgage.

Key findings include:

• South Carolina leads the Growth ranking, followed by Idaho, North Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. South Carolina combines 52.34% five-year home price appreciation with 8.5% population growth, strong domestic migration, and continued employment and wage growth.
• Idaho leads the Income ranking, followed by Arizona, Florida, Utah and Ohio. Its position reflects rent growth, expanding renter demand, and comparatively low ownership costs, rather than the highest rent-to-home-value ratio.
• North Dakota leads the Fundamental ranking, followed by Alabama, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Oklahoma. Its strengths include affordability, low unemployment, stable home prices, and economic diversification under the study’s model.
• Florida ranks in the top four for both Growth and Income, but places 30th for fundamentals, illustrating how a market’s appeal can change with the investment objective.
• Mississippi and West Virginia have the highest statewide rent-to-home-value proxies, at 6.37% and 6.20%, respectively, yet neither makes the Income top 10.

The rankings also reveal distinct regional patterns. Growth leaders are concentrated in the South and Mountain West, with positive net domestic migration across all 10 leading states. Income leaders are more geographically dispersed, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois alongside Western and Sun Belt markets.

Every state in the Fundamental top 10 has a home price-to-income ratio of 4.60 or lower and a five-year average unemployment rate of 3.60% or lower, according to the study.