Newbie Investor Having Trouble Identifying a Market

[Daniel Hughes]

Hello,

I am looking to purchase a small multifamily (2-4 units) property to use as a house-hack in the next 6-12 months to get my start in real estate. I'd like to get some insight into how to select a market to invest in. How can I tell if an area would make a good investment for my chosen niche and/or in general? I've heard that some important markers to look at are unemployment and population growth, but I'm not sure if there are more, what benchmarks are acceptable, or where to find these numbers.

I currently live in Arizona, but I am looking to invest in whichever location makes the most sense. I have tentatively been looking at Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and the Midwest. However, I am having trouble knowing how to gauge a market and I am having trouble knowing how high of a purchase price I can afford. I need to get better at these two things in order to make a final decision. I know that cities within each state, and zipcodes within each city will have differences, but I am having trouble even selecting a City/State to dive deeper on.

My goal is long-term buy and hold focusing on cash flow and I currently have $13k of capital to invest. I plan to use an FHA loan to finance the deal. My short-term goal is 9 total units and my medium-term goal is 16 total units. I am looking to get >=$100/mo per unit in cash flow and >= 12% COCROI.

I am soaking up as much knowledge as possible so I can take confident action and BiggerPockets has been a wonderful resource. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!