GTA 5: Which Properties Are Actually Worth Buying

Property investment in GTA 5's story mode offers one of the most satisfying progressions in the game—transforming your characters from broke criminals into Los Santos real estate moguls. Unlike GTA Online's grind-heavy economy, story mode provides clear paths to billions through strategic property purchases combined with stock market manipulation. For players who want to skip the initial grind, buying gta 5 accounts from established marketplaces like Gameboost, with properties and cash reserves already established, has become increasingly common—often costing less than starting fresh and purchasing in-game currency. This guide reveals which properties are worth buying, when to buy them, and how to generate maximum returns.

Understanding Property Types and Income

GTA 5 properties fall into three categories, each with different investment values and gameplay benefits.

Income-Generating Properties: These businesses produce weekly income deposited directly into your account. Income ranges from $2,000 to $9,000+ per in-game week (approximately 48 minutes real-time).

Mission-Unlocking Properties: Some properties unlock unique missions or activities but generate no direct income. These are purchased for completion and gameplay variety rather than profit.

Storage Properties: Garages and helipads provide vehicle storage but no income. These are convenience purchases rather than investments.

The Critical Insight:

Property income is negligible compared to stock market profits from Lester's assassination missions. A property generating $9,000/week sounds good until you realize a single optimized assassination mission nets $1-2 billion. Properties should be viewed as endgame completion goals rather than primary income sources.

The Assassination Mission Strategy: Fund Your Empire

Before buying any properties, you need capital. The Lester assassination missions provide the foundation for infinite wealth.

The Five Assassination Missions:

1. Hotel Assassination (mandatory story mission)
2. The Multi-Target Assassination
3. The Vice Assassination
4. The Bus Assassination
5. The Construction Assassination

The Golden Rule:

Complete ONLY the Hotel Assassination during the story. Save the other four until after completing the main story when all three characters have maximum cash from the final heist.

Why This Matters:

Each assassination mission allows you to manipulate the stock market. Buying stocks before the mission and selling after nets 80-300% returns. With $30-40 million per character post-story, these returns generate $200 million+ per character, giving you $600 million+ total.

Detailed Assassination Guide:

Hotel Assassination (Story Required):

• Before: Buy Betta Pharmaceuticals (BAWSAQ)
• After mission: Sell when it peaks 80-100% profit
• Invest earnings in Bilkinton (LCN)
• Sell Bilkinton after 24-48 hours for another 80% return

Multi-Target Assassination:

• Before: Buy Debonaire (LCN)
• After: Sell at 80% profit
• Then buy Redwood (LCN)
• Sell Redwood after 48 hours at 300% profit

Vice Assassination:

• Before: Buy Fruit (BAWSAQ)
• After: Sell at 50% profit
• Buy Facade (BAWSAQ)
• Sell at 30% profit after 48 hours

Bus Assassination:

• Before: Buy Vapid (BAWSAQ)
• After: Sell at 100% profit

Construction Assassination:

• Before: Buy GoldCoast (LCN)
• After: Sell at 80% profit

Expected Total:

Starting with $30 million per character, optimized assassination trading nets approximately $200-250 million per character = $600-750 million total across all three protagonists.

Property Purchase Priority: What to Buy First

With hundreds of millions available, property purchases become about completion rather than profit optimization.

Essential Purchases (Buy First)

1. Los Santos Customs Shops (All Locations)

• Cost: $1.4 million total (5 locations)
• Income: $1,600/week per shop ($8,000/week total)
• Benefit: Free vehicle repairs and modifications
• ROI: Infinite (free repairs save millions over time)

Why Buy: The free repairs and mods are worth exponentially more than the purchase price. These should be your first property investment with any character who has the cash.

2. Smoke on the Water (Franklin)

• Cost: $204,000
• Income: $9,300/week
• ROI: 22 weeks
•  

Why Buy: Highest weekly income in the game relative to cost. This is Franklin's best pure income property.

3. Downtown Cab Co (Franklin)

• Cost: $200,000
• Income: $8,000/week
• Missions: Unlocks taxi side missions
• ROI: 25 weeks
•  

Why Buy: Good income plus mission variety. Taxi missions provide additional gameplay content.

4. Hookies (Trevor)

• Cost: $600,000
• Income: $9,300/week
• ROI: 65 weeks
•  

Why Buy: Highest income for Trevor. Worth purchasing despite longer ROI given abundance of cash post-assassinations.

Character-Specific Best Investments

Franklin's Portfolio:

1. Los Santos Customs (all locations) - $1.4M total
2. Smoke on the Water - $204,000
3. Downtown Cab Co - $200,000
4. Sonar Collections Dock - $250,000 (unlocks submarine pieces collectible)
5. Tequi-la-la - $2 million (unlocks management missions)

Total Franklin Investment: ~$4.5 million for all worthwhile properties

Michael's Portfolio:

1. Los Santos Customs (his accessible locations) - ~$400,000
2. Doppler Cinema - $10 million (vanity purchase, low income)
3. Ten Cent Theater - $20,000 (cheap novelty)

Michael's Reality: He has the fewest profitable property options. Most of his wealth stays liquid for stock trading.

Trevor's Portfolio:

1. Los Santos Customs (his accessible locations) - ~$400,000
2. Hookies - $600,000
3. Sonar Collections Dock - $250,000
4. Los Santos International Hangar - $1.378 million (aircraft storage)
5.  

Total Trevor Investment: ~$2.6 million for worthwhile properties

Properties to Avoid (Low ROI or Useless)

Cinema Doppler (Michael) - $10 million

• Income: $10,000/week
• ROI: 1,000 weeks (insane)
• Verdict: Vanity purchase only after you have infinite money

Golf Club (All Characters) - $150 million

• Income: $264,500/week
• ROI: 567 weeks
• Verdict: Completion only, terrible investment

Pitchers (Trevor) - $750,000

• Income: $7,000/week
• ROI: 107 weeks
• Verdict: Skip unless completionist

General Rule:

Any property with 100+ week ROI is a terrible investment. Buy these only after exhausting better options or for 100% completion goals.

Property Income Collection

Understanding how to collect property income avoids leaving money on the table.

Collection Mechanics:

• Income generates every 7 in-game days (approximately 48 minutes real-time)
• You must visit the property as the owning character to collect
• Uncollected income caps at 5 weeks maximum
• After 5 weeks, additional income stops generating until you collect

Optimal Collection Route:

Set a reminder to collect every 4-5 in-game weeks. Fast-traveling between properties takes ~10 minutes and collects $50,000-100,000 depending on your portfolio.

Reality Check:

Even with optimal property income, you're earning maybe $100,000/hour. A single assassination mission earns $200 million in 30 minutes. Properties are passive flavor, not serious income.

The Stock Market: Your Real Money Maker

Properties are secondary to stock market manipulation. Here's the complete wealth-building strategy:

Phase 1: Complete Story (Except Assassinations 2-5)

Finish the main story missions, including the final heist. Each character should have $30-40 million.

Phase 2: Execute Assassination Missions

Complete all four remaining Lester missions in order, following the stock purchase/sell guides above. This nets $200+ million per character.

Phase 3: Buy All Properties

With $600+ million total, purchase every property across all three characters. Total cost: ~$50 million for everything worthwhile.

Phase 4: Infinite Money Glitch (Optional)

Some players use the post-assassination wealth to continue trading stocks manually, but this is tedious. You already have enough money to buy everything in the game multiple times over.

Property-Unlocked Missions and Content

Some properties unlock unique missions that provide gameplay variety beyond income.

Sonar Collections Dock ($250,000): Unlocks 30 submarine pieces scattered underwater. Collecting all pieces earns a nuclear waste barrel collectible side mission and $250,000 total.

Tequi-la-la ($2 million, Franklin): Unlocks management missions where you promote the nightclub and handle business operations. Provides 5-6 unique missions.

Downtown Cab Co ($200,000, Franklin): Unlocks taxi fare missions where Franklin drives passengers across Los Santos. Provides variety during downtime.

Hangar (Various Costs): Aircraft storage and mission unlocks. Essential for aircraft collectors.

These are worth purchasing after your core income properties purely for content variety.

The 100% Completion Factor

Achieving 100% completion in GTA 5 requires purchasing specific properties and completing property-related activities.

Required for 100%:

• Purchase all Los Santos Customs locations
• Complete all property-specific missions (Sonar Collections, Tequi-la-la management, etc.)
• Collect all nuclear waste (unlocked via Sonar Collections Dock)

Not Required for 100%:

• Owning every single property
• Maxing out property income
• Golf Club purchase

For completionists, properties become mandatory checkboxes rather than optional investments.

Common Property Investment Mistakes

Mistake #1: Buying Properties Before Assassination Missions

Wasting your pre-assassination cash on properties means less starting capital for stock market manipulation. Always complete assassinations first, then use the billions to buy properties.

Mistake #2: Expecting Passive Income to Matter

Property income is negligible. Don't buy properties thinking they'll fund your empire—they won't. They're endgame flavor content.

Mistake #3: Buying High-Cost Vanity Properties First

The Golf Club costs $150 million and generates minimal returns. Buy practical properties first, vanity purchases last.

Mistake #4: Not Collecting Income Regularly

If you ignore properties for 6+ in-game weeks, you lose potential income. Set reminders to collect every 4-5 weeks.

Mistake #5: Wrong Character Purchases

Some properties are character-locked. Buying Trevor's properties with Franklin is impossible. Know which character needs to make each purchase.

The Endgame: What Properties Enable

Once you own all properties and have infinite money, what's the point?

Completionist Satisfaction: Owning every property and generating maximum passive income feels satisfying for completionists.

Gameplay Variety: Property missions provide content variety during the post-story sandbox phase.

Convenience: Free vehicle repairs and modifications from Los Santos Customs save time and annoyance.

Role-Playing: Building each character's unique empire (Franklin's business empire, Michael's entertainment investments, Trevor's criminal operations) adds narrative flavor.

Properties transform GTA 5 from a linear story into a sandbox empire management game.

Final Thoughts: Build Your Los Santos Empire

Property investment in GTA 5 story mode is about smart sequencing: assassination missions for capital, then strategic property purchases for completion and convenience.

The key insight: properties are endgame content, not primary income. Focus on stock market manipulation first, then use the billions to buy everything. With proper assassination mission execution, you'll have enough money to purchase every property in the game with hundreds of millions left over.

Build your empire strategically, collect that passive income, and enjoy owning Los Santos.