A recent study showed it was initially cheaper to rent than to buy in 97 of the largest 100 markets.  

My company, Rent To Retirement, does thousands of transactions annually with the largest builders in the country, and that is how we are able to take institutional type of discounts to pass that on to the individual investor in some of the best markets.

I sold my largest MF on contracts, otherwise my tax bill would have been enormous. 

A new article came out showing Philadelphia investor saw the largest capital gains on their flip of 136% and Montgomery County seeing 78% gains (ranking 12th in the nation).

From my research, seems like healthcare is one of the largest employers in San Antonio.

I would recommend researching the economic growth and landlord laws of each area.Texas has great landlord/tenant laws and one of the fastest growing economies in the world that's currently the 8th largest economy in the world.

I'm now in the Reno, NV area and there are some great advantages to this area like low property taxes, limited new construction, tech and manufacturing job growth, and lots of recreation activities. 

There are also some good options just outside the Lake Tahoe basin that can offer year round recreation and 20 minutes to ski areas.

In Oregon my title company would give me update spread sheet of all NOD's going ( but keep in mind I was the largest buyer or one of them in the market at the time. 

Land acquisition, permitting, grading, hardscaping, wells/plumbing/septic, electricity, shared recreational amenities . ..