TurboTenant Report: The Best Places to Buy Rental Investment Property in Missouri

In this edition of The TurboTenant report, we will be focusing on the best places to buy an investment property in Missouri. Five towns made our list: Joplin, Jefferson City, Independence, Lees Summit, and Kansas City. We curated data from studies on the best places to buy an investment property, median sale prices, and proprietary TurboTenant data. The TurboTenant Data includes stats on the average number of leads a rental property received, as well as the average number of days on the market. These two points will help an investor determine the strength of the rental market, as well as estimating potential vacancy rates.

Missouri is known as the Gateway to the West – it has more neighboring states than any other besides Tennessee. This prime location makes traveling easy and ideal if you live there. More than half of Missouri residents live in the up and coming urban areas of Kansas City and St. Louis. Whether it’s visiting the Gateway Arch, attending a Cardinals game, enjoying some great barbecue, or hiking in the Ozarks, Missouri shouldn’t be overlooked. Missouri actually has the most family farms in the U.S., and while agriculture has always been an important part of its economy, manufacturing, especially of aerospace and automobile materials, has become a huge part of its workforce. Home to both Mark Twain and T.S. Eliot, Missouri’s art and culture has always flourished with several music festivals, museums, and libraries.

Missouri is known as The Show-Me State, and we’re here to show you the best places to buy rental investment property in Missouri.

#5: Kansas City

Kansas City – although half of it might be in Kansas – Missourians will tell you their side is better. It’s a huge tourism hot spot where more than 58,000 jobs are sustained by tourism, supporting $1.8 billion wages. This makes sense as KC is overflowing with things to do for both visitors and locals. From enjoying some delicious KC barbecue, to attending a Chiefs or Royals game, to visiting one of the several museums and art galleries, Kansas City is an amazing place to live. This city is growing in population and employment with median sale pirce is around $190k;  home values have increased 11.5% year over year. Because so many people are moving to the City of Fountains it is a competitive market, landlords can expect around 47 leads per property and around a month on the market. Just like its famous barbecue, KC’s rental properties are smokin’.

• Population growth: 2.7%
• Employment growth: 1.5%
• Increase in home values: 11.5%
• Median Sale Price: $190k
• Average Rent: $1,010
• Average Number of Leads per Property: 47
• Number of days on the rental market: 32

#4: Lees Summit

Located only 20 minutes away from bustling Kansas City, Lees Summit boasts a family-friendly community and also one of the most prestigious areas in Missouri. Lees Summit offers great education, health-care, and affordable housing with safe neighborhoods – it’s no wonder it was voted one of the Best Places in the U.S. to live! It also has great restaurants, shopping, and activities for kids – who wouldn’t want to live here? Since it is a growing community, median sale prices are around $259k, but the rent is more affordable at $863. Because of its family-oriented vibes, landlords should expect to house more families with around 34 leads per property and 12 days on the market!

• Population growth: 2.5%
• Employment growth: 1.6%
• Increase in home values: 1.9%
• Median Sale Price: $259k
• Average Rent: $863
• Average Number of Leads per Property: 34
• Number of days on the rental market: 12

#3: Independence

Independence is the fifth largest city in Missouri with over 117,000 residents. Famously known as the home of President Harry S. Truman, the city also has over 40 parks, excellent education, and great shopping. Independence has a unique place in history for  pioneers, the Oregon Trail, and its historic Independence Square – combined with its history it has a great modern culture perfect for families, young adults, and retired folks. It is extremely affordable – average rent is only around $745 and the median home sale price is only around $140k. Landlords will get around 54 leads, an excellent number considering the population, and will fill their properties in only 16 days or less. The Queen City of Trails was the starting point for the California, Oregon, and Santa Fe Trails – it’s also a great starting point for property investors in Missouri.

• Population growth: 0%
• Employment growth: 1.6%
• Increase in home values: 0.1%
• Median Sale Price: $140k
• Average Rent: $745
• Average Number of Leads per Property: 54
• Number of days on the rental market: 16

#2: Jefferson City

As the capital of Missouri, Jefferson City has many historical sites and landmarks. The city has great views of the Missouri River along with unique architecture – some of the many reasons why it was chosen as one of America’s Most Beautiful Small Towns! Jefferson is a bike-friendly city where you can easily tour its sites, shops, trails, and locale eateries all by bike. It truly is a hidden gem where the state government employs many of its residents as well as other service industries. Even though it’s the state capital, it has the cheapest average rent out of any of our cities at only $604 a month. Landlords will be happy to know they will have over 60 leads per property and only 17 days on the market – sounds good to us.

• Population growth: 0%
• Employment growth: -1.3%
• Increase in home values: 3.4%
• Median Sale Price: $116k
• Average Rent: $604
• Average Number of Leads per Property: 61
• Number of days on the rental market: 17

#1: Joplin

Joplin is located in Southwest Missouri in the Four States region with Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. Its intersection with historic Route 66 put Joplin on the map, and the city has since developed a great downtown, booming culture, affordable living, and fun reputation. Joplin claims it is more than just a stop by in cross-country travel, but is a place where icons are born or go. For example, it is home to Langston Hughes and even Bonnie and Clyde hid in Joplin. JoMo is clearly a crossroads of cultures and property investors should take note of its high 12.4% increase in home values, affordable rent of $632, and sale price of $180k. Joplin is a booming rental market where landlords can expect 96 leads per property – rentals go fast with an average of only 10 days on the market. Joplin is our #1 stop to buy rental investment property.

• Population growth: 1%
• Employment growth: 0%
• Increase in home values: 12.4%
• Median Sale Price: $180k
• Average Rent: $632
• Average Number of Leads per Property: 96
• Number of days on the rental market: 10

Once you’ve landed the perfect investment property in a good location, TurboTenant can help take your landlording into the digital world by streamlining the rental process with easy and free online rental applications as well as thorough tenant screening so you can find the best renter for your property.

About the TurboTenant Report

The TurboTenant Report analyzes data from active listings across all 50 states, as well as third party real estate, population and employment growth data. Our goal with the TurboReport is to empower seasoned and novice investors to make wise purchasing decisions when purchasing a rental investment property. For more information or custom data requests, please contact [email protected].

Methodology:

In order to determine the best cities to invest in each state, we curated data from a number of reputable sources as well as using TurboTenant proprietary data. Our main city selections were taken from a study that evaluated four main factors for each city: employment growth, population growth, increase in home values and rental yield. We combined that with TurboTenant data on the average rent price, the number of rental leads per property, as well as the average number of days the rental stays on the market.

We also included an honorable mention where applicable. They are pulled from this study on the best places to invest in every state. These were determined using Zillow’s Buyer-Seller Index and Zillow Home Value Forecast, and AreaVibes’ Livability Score. Other methods for determining honorable mentions include using TurboTenant proprietary data to determine which cities return the best rental investment R.O.I. using data points including days on market, the number of leads per property, and average rent price.

DISCLAIMER: TurboTenant, Inc does not provide legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. All users are advised to check all applicable local, state and federal laws and consult legal counsel should questions arise.

Sources:

• TurboTenant Rental Data
• Fastest Growing States Population
• The Best and Worst Cities to Own Investment Property
• Real Estate data provided by Redfin, a national real estate brokerage.