Purchasing investment property is an excellent option for self-directed IRA holders, since real estate investing can offer greater stability and potential for long-term growth than the stock market. In order to put your IRA capital to its most productive use, it is first crucial to understand the current state of the market in which you intend to invest. Here are some important things to keep in mind when you are looking to purchase investment properties with your IRA:

Flipping is Out

The market is inclining toward long-term buy and hold property investing. The national economic picture doesn’t look quite the same as it did a few years ago, when quick-turnaround flipping was at its pinnacle. Prices have stabilized in many markets where flipping houses for quick profit was possible, and the rapid influx of investor dollars has absorbed most of the low-end homes best suited to that type of investing. While there may still be some good flip opportunities out there, they are certainly much rarer than they were a few years ago.

Millennials are on the Move

Simply put, people are moving to where the jobs are. The improved economic climate is stimulating job growth in many different regions. Job growth means that younger Millennials are seeing improvement in their financial prospects, and are starting to move out of mom’s basement and looking to rent or purchase their own homes. As a result, first-time home ownership is increasing, thus creating new fields of opportunity for property investors in these job-growth regions.

Rentals are Picking up the Housing Slack

The employment-related migration stimulated by improved economic conditions is also having a positive effect on rental property prospects. While many cities are experiencing high rates of job growth, they aren’t experiencing an equal rise in new housing construction. According to Bisnow, the building slowdown contributed to the $20.6B increase in rent in the U.S. from 2013 to 2014. The piece goes on to say that while the rental market won’t always see this kind of staggering growth, we can expect rent growth to continue in 2015.

With these factors in mind, you now have to decide where to place your capital. We’ve crunched some numbers and based on publicly available data, as well as feedback from our investor clients, we’ve compiled a list of markets with the best investment prospects in terms of costs and cash flow. While there are a many markets with good dynamics, we think these ten are likely to produce the most favorable results your IRA dollars in 2015.

Our Top Ten

Atlanta, Georgia

• Pop: 5,522,942
• Avg. Home Price: $188,751
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 4.2%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 2.3%

Boise, Idaho

• Pop: 650,288
• Avg. Home Price: $183,649
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 5.3%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 2.2%

Dallas, Texas

• Pop: 4,500,745
• Avg. Home Price: $197,159
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 5.9%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 3.8%

Grand Rapids, Michigan

• Pop: 1,016,603
• Avg. Home Price: $149,123
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 2.8%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 3.7%

Jacksonville, Florida

• Pop: 1,394,624
• Avg. Home Price: $196,538
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 3.4%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 3.2%

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

• Pop: 3,459,146
• Avg. Home Price: $221,408
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 3.1%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 2.0%

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• Pop: 1,319,677
• Avg. Home Price: $166,044
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 4.8%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 3.3%

Orlando, Florida

• Pop: 2,267,846
• Avg. Home Price: $187,568
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 6.0%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 3.6%

Provo, Utah

• Pop: 562,239
• Avg. Home Price: $211,273
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 6.2%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 3.0%

San Antonio, Texas

• Pop: 2,277,550
• Avg. Home Price: $189,080
• Pop Growth (’10-’13): 5.8%
• Jobs Growth (annual): 2.5%

Our list looks primarily at larger real estate markets, but there are many other options if you don’t see one here that is the right fit for you. For instance, there are many sub-market locales that will have their own positive or negative variance from the metro/county trends we used to make the above selections. We have investors achieving success in many other mid to small-sized metro areas like Charleston, SC, Indianapolis, IN, and Des Moines, IA; and even in higher-priced markets like San Francisco, Denver, Seattle and Washington D.C. The most important thing you can do as an investor is research the market and get a solid understanding of local economic fundamentals and broader, long-term trends in the area you choose. The key is to find the right mix of variables that will provide your IRA with a solid investment and many years of productive rental income.

Photo by Brett Weinstein via CC license