But for the rest of us, there must be useful approximation techniques to understanding the local real estate markets.I come primarily from the conventional stock and bond portfolio world, where historical dividend yield rates and price appreciation rates are common knowledge for various segments of the market: S&P 500 for domestic large cap, FTSE ex-US for international, Barclays for bonds, etc.

I think like all investments the bad deals can make the whole segment look bad. 

You might make it worth $20k mid rehab but it still has intrinsic value to a large segment of the home buying (both retail and inner industry) world.

So, my strategy is to build higher quality product and target a higher segment of the market.

Perhaps trying new list segments to target people who aren't getting the letters from your competitors.

There is a persistent segment of the population that is going from middle class to upper middle class (if you will), and that is driving the bulk of gentrification in places like the Bay Area, costal CA , Hawaii, NYC, etc.

What you point out makes sense to me; consumer lenders cater to the demographic segment that has zero disposable income and is all the sudden facing higher prices for gas, groceries and rent!

You can get the study from CBRE for free, I'd try googling it to find the link to sign up to receive it (you have to give your email address & get on their list).By the way, 8-10 cap rates is more of your D-class type of stuff, probably not the best sandbox to play in unless you are particularly adept at navigating the management nuances of that particular segment.

WHAT I HAVE DONE THUS FAR: My research (frequent drives through the market) indicates that though Chattanooga is a relatively stable tertiary market, the MF segment in my target area (the downtown area) has high supply, which may take a while to move through the system.

If your market it highly competitive, you don't want to put all your resources mailing to just Absentee Owners.Two owner occupied segments have had success - without being over-popular yetSeniors with Long-Time Ownership - 15-20+ year ownership, age 60-89, specify median home values and eliminate known low equityOwners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS) - Struggling financially, 5* year ownership, age 40-89, eliminate known low equity, and specify median home value.Your list broker can run reports for you and most will charge the same $ as the online systems like ListAbility or Listsource.