A recent Wall Street Journal article cast a spotlight on self-directed real estate investing and shared that an increasing number of investors are investing in properties in Cleveland due to favorable pricing. Investors are flocking to Ohio from as far away as California to take advantage of the housing prices and resale potential.
As we’ve highlighted, some Equity Trust self-directed investors are interested in real estate as an alternative investment but are priced out of their local market or have knowledge of other markets in the country.
For these reasons and more, investors have found benefits in investing in a rental property or fix-and-flip outside of their home state.
Which states receive the highest proportion of out-of-state real estate investing activity? We looked at clients’ real estate purchases in their self-directed IRAs to reveal where the percentage of non-resident purchases was the highest.

Top 10 States Out-of-Town Real Estate Investors Purchase Properties in their Equity Trust IRAs:
1. Washington, D.C.
2. North Dakota
3. Nebraska
4. Connecticut
5. Arkansas
6. Maine
7. Nevada (tie)
7. Vermont (tie)
9. New Mexico
10. Delaware
Curious to see how other states rank? Here is the entire map showing the percentage of each state’s Equity Trust IRA real estate purchases that were made by out-of-state investors.