I have bought a couple of units and now working on my own development.

I'm also interested in purchasing an STR in the Catskills region so I thought I'd jump in! 

There’s a lot of new development going on in Huntsville proper, but properties in nearby suburbs like Athens, Decatur, or Meridianville are both more affordable at present and less prone to competition from new construction.$150,000 can buy you a tenant-ready 3 bed, 2 bath single-family home in a B-grade neighborhood.

Finally, The rent control discourages further development, limiting supply which results in higher rents.So rents go up, but the rent control advocates are too uneducated on the economics of the rent control policy to see their role in the rent increase.Another consequence of rent control is no value in keeping the property as nice.

Real estate's "gross rent multiplier" is Wall Street's "sales to revenue",  "cap rate" is roughly "P/E ratio".When evaluating markets and investments I tend to start with GRM (or lazily the 1% rule), then attempt to return a cap rate based on assumptions about costs, then I work my way to multiple years of projections (assumptions about inflation, amortization, tax benefits, etc), and if I am partnering with one of my smart friends I have to pull up an IRR (internal rate of return).I also look at regional employment levels, median income to rent ratio in the zip code etc. 

Credit unions or smaller regional banks might be a better fit.

The Economic Development there is focused on building competitive regional talent, diversifying the regional economy, transforming Montgomery's image and building diverse community capacity.Major economic drivers to the area include Hyundai manufacturing, Maxwell & Gunter Air Force Base, major Amazon distribution, Alabama State Capitol, Alfa Insurance, Kinpak, H2 Pharma, Dollar General transport/logistics, Dow Chemical, and Conner Industries to name a few. 

I have a few lots in New Orleans and am looking to run  profitability analysis of sfr 3/2 development v. one zoned as duplex.  

As an investor here myself, I can tell you we're seeing solid rental demand here thanks to the strong job market and major employers developing here. 

Problem is there are probably 1000 lots or more for resale and the developer is still selling.