What's Your Method for Analyzing Potential Rental Markets?

[Account Closed]

What are your methods for analyzing a potential rental market to invest in?

I have a specific market in mind(Berwyn, suburb of Chicago IL) to start my investing career in, only because I grew up here and am familiar with the area. However I don't want to miss out on other neighborhoods that have more potential just because I'm used to Berwyn.

My overall plan right now is to find and focus on one target area in Chicagoland that I wouldn't mind living in for a few years, find and buy a distressed 2-4 flat for cash in that area, rehab it and live in one unit while renting out the others. Cash flow and ARV are both equally important to me, so it's like a hybrid buy&hold / fix&flip analysis.

So what I'm asking is: What are the best ways to get data on rental markets? How should I be analyzing the data? What should I be looking for when analyzing the data?

I'm pretty much brainstorming right now, so all thoughts are welcome!