This is why it's in everyone's  best interest to operate their businesses in a manner that avoids gross negligence conduct. 

is there a particular formula that takes all manner of factors, (employment growth, corporation development news, barrier to entry, rental rates, wage growth, etc) into account and spits out an "invest in city X" answer?

You've probably heard of big Landlords losing property, but only because they were flagrantly violating Fair Housing, running a slum, or otherwise violating the law in an egregious manner.

For your scenario, there are no one time close options for something like that, but I wouldn't do a 1 time close anyway because they are an absolute nightmare for clients and developers/contractors who actually want to get paid in a timely manner generally. 

I would wait a while to get them at a discount but with condos, it always feels like a gamble because of future assessments, fee increases and difficulty getting a tenant approved in a timely manner.

Hey @Ashley Wong,I don’t have much insight into Columbus or Tulsa, but I run a turnkey provider in Huntsville and can vouch for the area—for two reasons.First, Huntsville’s strong demographic headwinds have led to steady and sustainable population growth (+20% in the last decade), while the city’s abundance of high-quality STEM jobs—brought to the area by industry heavyweights like Dynetics, Boeing, FBI, Redstone Arsenal, Blue Origin, and others—have attracted numerous well-heeled millennial renters.

So is your comment about passive investors wanting ROI that are only achievable (on a SUSTAINABLE basis, and without undo risk) by knowledgable, experienced active investors "in the game".  

That’s totally reasonable. my point is so many here seem to believe they can have a sustainable business without any money.

While I personally have no use for the model, if you approach it in the manner you're describing I'm sure you will get a lot more attention and traction - especially your last quote: "How do I profitably solve problems for the people I want to work with?"

--comunicating information in a manner that leaves no ambiguity regarding planned or expected actions--seeking (requiring) clear unambiguous answers or responses,--documenting agreements in writing.