By Elizabeth Martinez

Miami, FL- As the number of foreclosures keeps growing, the opportunities for savvy investors who want to grow their portfolio of rental properties keep growing as well. Reports from RealtyTrac suggest that prices have gone significantly down in some markets, an opportunity for the so-called flippers to purchase, rehabilitate and resell properties in the short term. 

Chief  executive officer of RealtyTrac , James Saccacio, explained that  "As the national economy continues to laboriously work its way back to prosperity in an uncertain future, the dynamics of local real estate markets continue to offer opportunities for investors to purchase properties at exceptional discounts,".
 "The old saying that there's no better time than the present has never been truer than it is today." Added Saccacio.

Looking at the data available from RealtyTrac, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), we are able to determine that  a number of the nation's metro areas stand out when it comes to finding the best deals out there for investors. These areas have been analyzed based on some specific criteria like the available discounts on purchasing distressed properties in the area. For the areas mentioned below, the average sales price discount is of at least 35 percent on foreclosure purchases, they also have a positive year-over-year growth in median home prices and relatively low unemployment rates compared to state and national averages.
Three areas that fall under these criteria are Memphis, TN, Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI, and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY.

In Memphis, More than 3,000 properties sold in the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) during the first quarter of 2010, with 37 percent of those being foreclosure properties, selling at an average discount of nearly 53 percent, according to RealtyTrac. Furthermore, on a year-over-year basis, unemployment was up one point in March at 10.6 percent, according to the BLS. Despite the unemployment numbers, home prices increased 18.5 percent, with the average foreclosure selling for $72,904 during the quarter.

In Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI, reports show that more than 2,200 properties sold during the quarter, with 22 percent of those being foreclosure properties selling at an average savings of nearly 48 percent. For this region, the March unemployment rate was below the national average at 9.8 percent. In addition, metro home prices rose during the quarter by 6.8 percent from the previous year, with the average foreclosure property selling for $89,839 during the first quarter.

In Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY, although only 8 percent of the MSA's total 800 properties sold were foreclosures during the first quarter, they sold at a discount of more than 47 percent. Unemployment in the MSA was well below the national average at 8.6 percent in March. Furthermore, the metro's median home price rose 7.5 percent during the quarter from the previous year. Foreclosure properties there sold during the quarter for an average price of $57,191.

Other areas considered were Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH, with foreclosures selling at an average discount of more than 45 percent, and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Selling at a discount of 41 percent.