Tax defaulted properties are cheap and rural defaulted properties are the cheapest.

Counties often auction rural properties at the cheapest minimum bid price due to lack of competition; Few real estate agents flock to auctions in the field because high-quality properties are often found in metropolitan areas through traditional real estate investing.

Rural land is cheap to attract buyers because most people buy property in the metropolitan area due to the accessible and available services and income opportunities. Groceries, schools, work, entertainment and everything one needs and wants is in the urban area. In fact, more people are moving to the city center, making the urban population denser in urban areas than in rural areas over the past 20 years.

Over the years, only wealthy and upper-middle-class households spread out into the countryside. These homes often buy to build ranches and farms.

However, with the current rise in oil prices, American households are less mobile. Households are driving less or even walking to save money. Traveling from your rural home to the city center to work is too expensive now. In this case, rural land becomes less attractive (but cheaper) to buyers working in urban areas.

The increase in the price of oil also affected household spending. One of those paralyzed expenses is the mortgage payment. Economists found that a $ 2 increase in transportation costs translates into a $ 50 cut in home mortgage payments. As mortgage payments are sacrificed for more basic family needs, more families, often from the middle and lower classes, are losing their homes. More houses are being sold and auctioned at a time when people are less likely to buy. The supply of houses exceeds the demand, which makes property prices cheaper. Rural lands, which were already cheap then, become cheaper, and tax-defaulting rural properties are the cheapest among the low-priced properties.

However, you can still make big real estate gains if you know where and how to buy the right properties.