I am sure you came across this while googling, but I thought this site was interesting/helpful. http://www.mmac.org/economic-trends.htmlAs a numbers guy as well, I am curious to see what other resources folks on here are using! 

I think a good economic argument could be made for an air-source heat pump with a natural gas furnace to provide backup below certain temperatures.

Keep in mind some properties are economically obsolete … along with functionally obsolete.. be careful.. in this day and age with the internet and this irrational exuberance to be landlords there are not many markets that are totally under the radar that are viable.. 

@Scott Choppin the issue you are going to face is two fold; one, very few real estate crowdfunding sites, if any, will take on ground up development because they are inherently higher risk, longer term projects that do not appeal to the majority of current crowdfund investors so are difficult to capitalize, and two, investor demand for real estate crowdfunding slants heavily towards current pay on preferred returns which don't make good economic sense for ground up deals.These two issues may sound the same, but they are driven by different underlying dynamics.

@Michael Guzik  I had similar thoughts, but of course it's not just the affordability of houses they look at - it's the change in affordability compared to changes in other economic indicators.

.- Closing In-House: It's definitely possible to close in-house (and when the deals are cheap enough, it may be the only economical way to do it), but it also takes quite a bit of time and work to learn how to do it correctly, to make sure the paperwork is prepared correctly, and then to actually execute it.

I have my Associate's in Business but I'm working towards to completing my Bachelor's in Economics. 

Basic economics are taught in college.

Every economic cycle is different and it is highly unlikely that we will see the same set of factors that created the housing crisis in 2008.

The Kenosha market is definitely hot right now with all the economic growth coming to the area.