The top 20 areas real-estate investors are piling into for high population growth, increasing rental demand, or price appreciation, according to a property-data firm

• Thomas Malone says investors are attracted to areas with population growth. 
• In June, investor purchases of single-family houses were up while occupancy buyers were down. 
• These 20 cities have the highest ratio of investors, plus 10 with the lowest. 

As of Friday, the average 30-year fixed mortgage in the US sat at a whopping 7.15%.

But even as interest rates have more than doubled what they were only two years ago, the real-estate market remains steady, according to an August 15 note from Goldman Sachs.