Houston was the second best market in the nation for real estate investing in the second quarter of 2008, according to a ranking by HomeVestors of America Inc.

Only Dallas was a better market than Houston during the quarter, according to the national franchise company, which specializes in buying, rehabbing and selling single-family homes.

Dallas-based HomeVestors, which has purchased more than 35,000 homes in the United States over the past 12 years, based the findings on the number of houses bought in each market by its franchise network.

Other Texas cities on the list were Fort Worth at No. 5 and San Antonio at No. 6. Filling out the Top 10 were Atlanta at No. 3; Denver at No. 4; Charlotte, N.C., at No. 7; St. Louis at No. 8; Milwaukee at No. 9 and Chicago and Kansas City, which tied for tenth place.

Founded in 1989 and franchising since 1996, HomeVestors has more than 230 franchises throughout the United States.