Researching new markets (out of state mainly)

[Andrew Hasdal]

I'm looking to venture into a new business (currently a realtor) involving real estate and looking for ideas from others. I have 2 main topics to ask about:

1) What method do you go about researching new markets? Are you looking at multiple sites like census data sites, city-data, researching job markets, etc? Would you find use out of a site that organized demographic data and displayed it on a map? Imagine a site where you can show population trends, job growth, age of workforce, etc. on a singular map and narrow down to census tracts that you want to invest in. Eventually it could integrate with current listings pulled from MLS data. I'd imagine this would be a small membership fee site.

2) What's a pain point you have with investing in real estate right now? What gives you frustration in your day to day? 

Appreciate any input!