I'm by no means an expert, but I'm also searching for deals in Houston and have a few observations.

You could find an experienced real estate investor in your area and talk your way into a maintenance/labour or assistants position with her/him and use the vantage point to observe and learn.  

Again you could be making that observation due to a specific area that has low cap rates but I'm not sure. 

End of the day without the benefit of hindsight investing is about process and odds and in my opinion its not the right thought process  and pure odds (meaning if you had enough observations and did it all over the place) would lead to bad outcomes. 

@Steven Fishoff - I can only offer my observation that both the down payment and interest rate is far below what I see.    

I'm really encouraged to see some buyer optimism here in Houston.I have a question on an observation of the graphs in the HAR report: In following the seasonal trend over the last few years, home prices appear to trend down in November(s), bump up in December(s), then trend back down to its trough in Jan/Feb(s).  

Your observation that you are seeing more of them available is definitely an indication that they are less desirable.  

Here are a few observations and questions.Are there any common area utilities? 

From my personal observation, the areas around Glassboro are seeing growth. 

My observation is that the good neighborhoods have been growing.