Where not to invest in a new home: Florida

Florida metro areas top Forbes list of worst cities for investing in residential real estate.

Florida metro areas dominate a new Forbes top 10 list — the worst cities nationwide for investing in residential real estate — based on home price, population and employment data from real estate research firm Local Market Monitor. First on the list is Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla., a municipality that was felled by speculative and second-home investors who drove prices artificially upwards during the boom years. It is followed by Reno-Sparks, Nev., Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla., Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla., and Port St. Lucie, Fla. California cities are conspicuously absent from the top 10, and LMM president Ingo Wizner said that’s probably because “California markets by and large have hit bottom,” whereas Florida, Nevada and Arizona markets (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Az. is No. 9 on the list) were more prone to speculative investing, and as a result, have not yet bottomed out. [Forbes]

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