Real estate is one of the last great free-market environments. everything is negotiable, and some providers are better than others, meaning they offer more complete/sophisticated service and response, wider marketing exposure, etc.I compete routinely against both higher than 5% and lower than 10% management rates and anywhere from one month's rent for a leasing fee, to half that. 

Put your interests in alignment with your investors rather than in opposition to their interests and you can build a much more profitable and long term sustainable business with the same financially sophisticated clients rather than always having to constantly search for the next sucker.

If real estates becoming so sophisticated for the average joe to comprehend.

It is a lot of pieces to negotiate and the renter/buyer is usually not sophisticated enough to be comfortable with it.

Today's buyers are MUCH more sophisticated and design-savvy than they were even a few short years ago, and WILL notice, appreciate, and even pay a bit more for that professional difference. 

For instance, Benjamin Moore Affinity Collection has 140 colors specifically designed for their Aura Paints to help the DIYer pull off a more sophisticated and cohesive palette.

So an analyst for one, would be doing very sophisticates analysis of larger commercial properties.Remember the general rule.

JMHO.A sophisticated way to profit if you truely believe this area is in the path of progress is to contact owners and offer to buy an option to buy at some present value for as many years as they'd agree to for a few $k.  

Also, since they are much more loosely regulated, it is easier for a real estate developer to commit fraud and not be detected.So it makes sense to me that there are rules in place to prevent "the average Joe", who probably isn't very sophisticated, from being ripped off.

You can go to the county Geographic Information System (GIS) or tax assessor websites, depending on size and sophistication of county, and you may find free tools available to search sales by neighborhood or zip code or price range and dates.