SA has historically been steady though (as far as I understand), so I was surprised to see it on that list.

Plus...escape velocity...Episode 113 – Jay Papasan - Very practical slow and steady adviceEpisode 221 - Tim Shiner - his concept of equity build up and "shearing the sheep" shows some of the flexibility of real estate vs a 401k Last but not least, I also recommend all the tax advice given by my fellow CPAs on the BP Podcast.

Plus...escape velocity...Episode 113 – Jay Papasan - Very practical slow and steady adviceEpisode 221 - Tim Shiner - his concept of equity build up and "shearing the sheep" shows some of the flexibility of real estate vs a 401k Last but not least, I also recommend all the tax advice given by my fellow CPAs on the BP Podcast.

I have two primary questions for investors in the St Michael, Hanover or Minneapolis areas:1) What is the temperature of the market there?

There's enough economic diversity here that I hope the population stays steady with jobs available.

We have worked with several out of market investors who wanted to leverage the steady appreciation in this market with buy and hold properties. 

Milwaukee has been slow and steady over the last 10 years with a very noticable upswing in development in the recent years.

However, if you succeed, you'll but much further ahead in five years than you might hope to be in fifteen years if you stick with the sure and steady. 

I am working on defining my strategy as i get more involved and I have at least settled on buying rental property to hold and generate steady stream of income.

Great advice Mike, i think there should not be a rush in starting out, "Steady and slow wins the race". try to get as much knowledge  as possible. i am thinking on signing up for real estate classes to become an agent. hope that is a great idea.