I've been in the commercial valuation industry for the past 5 years appraising office, industrial, and multifamily buildings nationally for institutional investors.

I read the electricity cost in this area is 10% cheaper than national average.

Read Beginner’s Guide to help you get started: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingBest of luck here at BP Nation.

A national auction house estimates $700k, and a local agent estimates $600k. 

@Mindy NicolRain is not an excuse imho unless it’s a national emergency.

Try contacting Unity National Bank.

The policy quotes I have received from two different brokers, are for insurers which do not have national name recognition (e.g., Cabrillo Coastal, Southern Oak, Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance).

Minor tweaks to the assumptions can cause wild variations in the calculated returns.The proforma is NOT God.If one steps backs and considers the notion any of us have a solid accurate idea what the world national local economy or interest rates or the real estate market in general will be like in 5 to 10 to 15 years are a heck of a lot smarter than I. 

Are they foreign nationals on a work visa?

The official source I was able to use is the National Association of Realtors site and it shows Multi-family market cap rate of 6.1% for 2024 Q1 (2023 Q4 was 5.7%).