Establishing Rental Rates in Empty Market

[Jesse Jochim]

So I am finally ready to jump in and buy my first single family rental property. There is a city about 30 minutes from downtown Minneapolis with property values that fit my financial strategy ($180,000 - $350,000 approximate range). I have searched for comparable rental properties in the area but I have yet to find a single available home, much less a comparable home. The population of the city has grown consistently for the last 10 years, it's relatively close to where I live, and I am think it has the potential to be a great rental market. The problem here is that without rental rates, I can't properly evaluate the homes and determine a good purchase price. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas on figuring out current rental rates in this situation?