If it is trending up, that could be a sign.

According to the Justice Department, RealPage’s algorithm allows landlords to align rents with their competitors by analyzing sensitive data, from renewal rates to occupancy trends.

Do you eat out for lunch every day, get coffee twice a day, have a new fancy car, and buy the latest trends?  

Between Columbus and Dayton I've seen these trends. 

In playing with the numbers a bit, I'm seeing a trend of atleast 2% rent to price and (ideally) < 7% mortgage rate needed to achieve a decent cash on cash rate.

You want to mix in advertisements with quality content that people will want to read such as DIY articles, market statistics, and popular housing trends.

(I recently saw an article in Forbes talking about the Bay Area’s shifting market) And if you aim to hold properties long term, keep your eyes on towns around the Bay that have had consistent rent growth.Here in my home market of Phoenix, I see investors branching out to places like Austin, Chicago, and even Omaha from what Ive heard because they recognize how trends can shift quickly.

Many of our developments are turning unprofitable citrus groves into SFH's.I do think there's a trend towards BTR (Horizontal Apartments).

What about the latest trend of fake SSNs?

the trend that you are seeing in your market I think is more nationwide and you are absolutely right about building relationships with agents and wholesalers to have a good dealflow.