Wouldn’t it have been great to buy a house in the Fairmount/Near Southside/Magnolia areas just five years ago? You could have gotten a nice, big house, with a front porch and vintage style, for a steal. The only requirement would have been some tender loving care in rehabilitating the property back to its full potential.

Now the houses there are going for over $300,000. That’s not an unacceptable price, but it certainly can't be considered a starter home or even a trade-up, according to Trulia.

So where are the next hot neighborhoods in Fort Worth, the places that are ripe for homebuyer who appreciate classic styling, are willing to put in some rehab work, and want to still have a convenient location?

There are three major tips to keep in mind when scouring for a home in the next hot neighborhood. Briggs Freeman/Sotheby agent Ashley Stein outlined them for us:

• Flipping: Look for a lower-priced neighborhood with a few more expensive outliers. If the pictures indicate they were recently renovated, that’s a clear signal that professional flippers may be speculating good things for the area.
• It’s near everything: Fort Worth is growing extremely fast, so if you find a cheaper pocket near downtown or a populated area, pounce. Any low-priced real estate in the central city will be bought up and renovated soon enough. Might as well be you who does it.
• Follow the (commercial and city) money: If the city is putting money into fixing up the roads and sidewalks of a particular part of town, commercial development will almost certainly follow. This means property values will go up, and more people will move to the area.

With those things in mind, these are five neighborhoods to watch (or buy!) in Fort Worth right now:

Jennings/May/St. Louis
It's not the most creative name, as these are just the streets comprising the small neighborhood just a bit north of the intersection of Berry and Hemphill. A big selling point here is the recent announcement of the Hemphill/Berry Urban Village. The streets and sidewalks at and near the intersection are getting major makeovers in preparation for the new businesses coming to the area.

The majority of homes here are fixer-uppers that can be had for a song, but there are a few already renovated gems hidden throughout the area. This indicates that people are already catching onto this neighborhood, especially because it's near TCU. Homes a few blocks west (and closer to campus) are already in the mid-$200,000 range.

Bluebonnet Hills
Another neighborhood that is looking to benefit from its proximity to TCU, Bluebonnet Hills is just southeast of the popular Bluebonnet Circle area, where home prices have already climbed above the $200,000 range. This area — which is essentially bordered by Berry on the north, Hemphill on the east, McCart on the west, and Seminary on the south — does hold a bit of a niche appeal, especially for fans of the “tiny home” movement.

Many of the houses are in the 1,0000-square-foot range, though they also often have fairly spacious yards. As with Jennings/May/St. Louis, some of the homes have already been fixed up. Houses are also selling quickly in this area, so strike while the iron is hot.

United Riverside
If you’ve been to the Martin House Brewery on a sunny Saturday afternoon, you know this neighborhood. And, hey, having a great brewery like Martin House as your neighbor is definitely a selling point. This neighborhood, anchored by Riverside Drive and Sylvania Avenue, is definitely for the long-term planner. It hasn’t quite started to get hot yet, in that people aren’t really buying up houses and remodeling.

But there is one very large indication that this will be a good spot to be in the near future. On the west side of Sylvania, along the river, are plans for a nice condo development. Add in that it’s just over the river from downtown (you can take the Fourth Street bridge and be in Sundance Square in no time), and there are a lot of houses currently available, and you have a recipe for a cool neighborhood.

Alamo Heights/Lake Como/Sunset Heights South
Eventually, far west Fort Worth is probably in for some kind of renaissance. The evidence can be seen in Alamo Heights and Sunset Heights, on either side of Hulen Street just south of I-30. The two neighborhoods can be combined as kind of a before and after. Alamo Heights has homes for sale in the $60,000 range to up to more than $300,000. The average, though, seems to be right around the sweet spot of $200,000.

These homes require a little less TLC than Sunset Heights South/Lake Como. Here, there is evidence that the neighborhood is working its way toward an upswing. The west side of Lake Como is chock-full of sub-$100,000 reclamation projects for handy DIY-ers.

Sylvan Heights West/Scenic Bluff
Convenience and location make this area, near the gem that is Yucca Avenue, an obvious choice. If you’ve ever driven down Yucca, it’s a nonstop parade of beautiful homes. Like with all these neighborhoods, there are plenty of less-expensive projects that you could make your own, and then pat yourself on the back that you got in before the rush.

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