I think real estate is one of the few industries that has a perpetual moat around it- in the words of Buffet.

Add, subtract, multiply and divide, that's basically it, if you understand the concept of the number line, you can consider timing, market movement, depreciation and a host of other aspects. 

Which seems like it would hurt those that missed out because they would pay more each month in interest towards payments.I know a decent bit about ARMs and that they have caps on the movements of rates on an annual change and also life time change.

Drum roll - no movement since.

MOVEMENTS!

In that sense, how valuable of a metric would you say is following the movements of large companies in order to identify upcoming markets? 

They might also need a tower in your location so if site is zoned to allow for cell phone towers that could be a way you could generate perpetual income for a ground lease.

We've been talking about a minimalist lifestyle for a while now, and I've long been fascinated by the tiny home movement.

Yes, it's expensive to suffer closing costs on the acquisition loan, and then refi 6 or 9 months later....but it's not a perpetual deal.

The idea you need to spend money on a CRM or mailing/social media campaign or fancy ads in order to "accelerate your business" is a falsehood perpetuated by the same institutions that sell such gimmicks.