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Not that long ago, Prince George’s County was one of the epicenters of the housing crisis that crippled the U.S. economy. As recently as June 2011, half of all home sales in the county were foreclosure-related.

But now house prices are on the rise, and Prince George’s is attracting more hordes of speculators looking to either flip properties for even more money or fill up the rental market. The Washington Post reports that even though more than half of the county’s homeowners are still underwater—they own more on their homes than the value of their property—the rush of new landlords and house-flippers is actually an encouraging sign. Home prices are up by nine percent over last year, too.

Prince George’s is also catching up to its neighbors, the Post reports:

The caravan of investors marks the flip side of a foreclosure crisis that lingered in Prince George’s longer than any other Washington suburb. For the past few years, homeowners there have watched with dismay as prices climbed ever higher in surrounding areas. In certain parts of the region, such as the District and Arlington, multiple bids are the norm and prices are close to boom-time peaks. The county’s outlier status is now a draw for investors.

“More people are getting into the game,” declared Jesse Marks, a real estate broker in Upper Marlboro, at a recent gathering of real estate investors. “Housing is back. And what happens when housing comes back? Everybody thinks they can do this.”

There’s actually less house-flipping going on these days, though. Instead of selling to the next speculator as quickly as they buy, many new Prince George’s property owners are holding on to their auction prizes, but as rental units. But with that trend comes another worrying factor: absentee landlords.