Rental prices look like they are trending up a little in the last few years.

In general I think trends in markets are unimportant to small investors (by the way I am a small investor). 

But trends are improving and as states and localities continue to moderate their COVID-19 policies, real estate activity is expected to continue to improve in the coming weeks.

Learn everything you can... from contracts, to terms, to formulas and market trends over the years.

The key is to figure out what works for you, from a design and cost perspective and of course, making sure it conforms to current market trends and just run with it, making changes periodically as markets change. 

Like they are trending downwards, but slowly?

Foreclosures are going to be on the rise. https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/study-suggests-pandemic-could-lead-to-foreclosure-spikeStay on top of the market prices and trends.  

When evaluating a market for multifamily investments, one particularly important factor to analyze is employment trends.

I would suggest doing a thorough due diligence and seeing what the trends are in that particular neighborhood.  

I've rented to tenants with low credit scores - some people just don't know the tricks to raising their credit score, have medical bills that they didn't know about until they were sent to collections, etc. etc.