I know this is also a National issue, especially in land constricted markets.

Welcome Surya, I work the Atlanta market.  

Networking and market research will be key to finding the right deals and scaling your portfolio.

The only two ways to rectify this are (1) purchase the property far below market price or (2) significantly increase the property net income usually through some method of “repositioning”. 

Or do I look into a market like Las Cruces, NM, or Lubbock, TX, as an example of bigger markets I have looked at and am somewhat familiar with?

Rental market is pretty strong, there are a lot of good economic drivers.

I bought some commercial properties (5, 6, and 11 units) and they were all off-market and seller-financed.Learn how to make the numbers work for you and the seller.

Your realtor will be able to give you a much more detailed market specific answer but with house hacking and a VA loan it should be possible to get 0 out of pocket.

What marketing efforts are they going to do outside of just posting in the MLS.

Very solid market, been investing there over 10 yrs and the rents continue to climb!