The key is to determine the highest and best use and absorption rates. 

Some of my clients who have had their units mainly for a 'college rental' strategy has definitely seen a slow down in terms of absorption rate but I was able to rent a 3 bed by a medical school for $3600/month in Boston.

Therefore, if you have the time and this is purely an investment/financial decision, I would pick an out of state market with strong growth and absorption rates, no singular industry job markets, and most importantly - boots on the ground you can trust. 

My niche is multifamily syndications, and the data we look for in a market/deal is:- Market Performance: Rent Growth, Market Vacancy, Long-Term Vacancy Average, Adverse Cycle Occupancy Bottom, Median Income, Employment Pool, Rent to Cost of Ownership, Income to Housing Cost Ratio, Market Rankings, Construction/Absorption Ratio, Pricing, Cap Rates, Trends in Capital Market, Etc. - Forecasted Market Performance of the Same- Property Specific Performance: Asking Rents, Actual Rents, Vacancy, New Lease Trade-Outs, Average Vacant Days, Lease Terms, Retention Rates, Renewal Trade-Outs, Sales Record, Renovations Completed, Market Comparable Amenities based on Class of Asset, Revenue, Rent Roll, Trailing 12 Months of Operating Expenses, Property Taxes, Property Insurance, Market Trends of Specific Floor Plans, Etc.

So if a person does not have the knowledge of absorption rates and/or given inventory levels I can see how viewing so many properties may seem as if it is a lot, truth is it is not. 

Either: (1) withdraw the excess contribution along with allocable earnings; get hit with taxation and a 10% early withdraw penalty on the earnings (most likely), (2) re-characterize the contribution to a non-deductible Traditional IRA, file Form 8606 with your return, maybe do a back-door Roth soon after if you won't get dinged by the pro-rata rule...or...just leave it as is and track the basis you now have in your traditional IRA, not as big a deal as people make it out to be... (3) pay the excise tax and hope the over-contribution can be remedied over time through the absorption method. 

Class A apartments are seeing the most negative impact on rent and vacancy, but Class B and C are doing okay as long as the neighborhood doesn't have negative net unit absorption - Downtown LA and Koreatown are prime examples.  

The result will be the absorption rate expressed as a precentage.

Areas that typically have very high Cap rates are often areas with poor economic features, such as higher unemployment, lower absorption rates, and possibly higher crime.

Prices are higher but how much is growth vs absorption after a long lean period of no construction?