Absorption rate good way to figure out where to buy a rental?

[Ryan Ross]

I have a real estate license, and I'm looking to buy my first rental property. Doing some risk management, i'm trying to figure out which areas will be the best to rent in. I'm told that the absorption rate is a good indicator of how likely a property is to be rented. What do you think? are there other ways to identify which areas are good for buying something to be rented?