Why Birmingham Has Become One of America’s Hottest Markets For Real Estate Investors

It’s hard to argue with a purchase price of $160,000 and a median monthly rent of $1,300, even in a high interest rate climate. Those median figures are why Birmingham, Alabama, has topped Realtor.com’s list of the top 50 U.S. cities for investors. Birmingham had the highest net share of investor homebuyers in the nation in 2025, with 21% of sales going to investors and 14.4% of sellers also being investors, giving it a net investor purchase share of 6.6%. A Cash Flow City While “cash flow” seems to be a quaint, bygone term for many investors, in Birmingham these days it’s still very much in play. “In Birmingham, the money is in the rent check, not the resale,” Cameron Walker of Clever Real Estate told Realtor.com. “That’s the whole story of why investors hold.” Realtor.com’s top 10 list of cash-flowing cities is as follows, along with the percent of investor buyers holding properties: Birmingham, Alabama: 6.6% Memphis, Tennessee: 6.2% Kansas City, Missouri: 5.7% St. Louis, Missouri: 4.6% Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: 4.4% Columbus, Ohio: 4.3% Miami, Florida: 4.2% New York, New York: 3.4% Cleveland, Ohio: 3.4% Salt Lake City, Utah: 3.1% Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones said of...