Market Comparables to Identify Best Market + Property

[Matt Hui]

Two questions:

1. What do experienced investors out there to identify a market that is worth buying property in? What metrics indicate there could be lots of deals in a particular neighborhood and that it is a good time to buy for a cash flow & appreciation investment strategy? I've started creating an initial spreadsheet that compares different zip codes by some of these metrics (see more here) but wanted to see what other metrics people were looking at.

2. What metrics does one look at to determine if a property is a deal? I've heard of the 1% and 70% rules, but is there anything else an investor can base their property selection process if there rules don't necessarily apply (or are not possible) in certain markets?