You need to get in front of where things are going in your view; your view may be wrong, so take that into account too.My view on REI and a little in macro-- primo lands will be more primo, investor pools will run to chase dollars which in turn makes non-investment grade areas a better return on equity, managing and owning debt may be a better return than equity, international equity exposure may be superior to domestic, liquidity and cash reserves will remain highly valuable and the notion of all cash needs to be invested will no longer be pushed as hard.

My macro answer is: it is worth it to get your license if you are active in the industry.I think Jennifer makes a lot of great points.

We do have a pricing manager who looks at macro trends and trend changes to try to stay ahead should anything change. 

Given the nuances between and within markets and listings I don't think there is a meaningful way to estimate this at a macro level. 

The two most common housemate complaints are “the house is too noisy”, and “the house is too messy”, so anything you can do to minimize noise and mess will be beneficial.

Macro and micro economic conditions are also always changing, so the markets that may be "good" for rental properties today will not be the same a year from now.I wouldn't consider myself an all-around expert of picking rental markets, but I have talked to a lot of people who are a lot smarter than me and have developed a set of criteria that help me focus on where to invest next.Since where I live is so expensive, and I originally had limited funds (and wanted higher cash flow), I primarily focused on larger metropolitan areas with good economic and population projections, but which have strong cash flow and average property prices around $55-85k per door (for multi-family properties).

That’s why it’s so important that town decision-makers address at a macro level and actually lead  That’s my mini-rant  was reading more about Asheville this evening  you all chose a beautiful place  

The Midwest has a lot going for it from a macro perspective and some cities are pushing hard with investment and revitalization.

Demographics are more important than any other factor at a macro level.2.

We like where we live its just getting bit too noisy.