What these markets all have in common is that they are highly desirable with blue chip status, have almost no new land (except infill/replacement development), and have a global client base.SF has had an annualized growth rate of about 4.5% over the last 30 years or so; rest of the country I believe 1.5-2%, many areas even less.

I wrote that book, so I just want to clarify something:All the metrics you read about and I discussed in the book (inventory, price trends, saturation, buyer pool, investor competition, etc) are to help you determine WHERE to buy, not WHEN to buy.Once you determine WHERE to buy, that is WHEN you should be buying.

They showed me their pay structure for repairs and it's very competitive.

Banks seem to be more competitive when they know you actively do business with more than 1 bank at a time.

hotel competition?

Currently the city of Seattle has very low housing inventory and the single family home buyer market is competitive.

. $10,000), but I think we all know that the wealthier you get the more pull there is to pinch pennies because it was a thriftiness that earned you all that money in the first place, and also the competition you face from peers or even one's own perceptions about goals/bottom line.

I'm remind of the old Twilight Zone episode where the lonely guy buys a love potion for cheap, like $10.He was impressed at the exceptional value and it's powerful effect on his love interest, who doted on him and made him the object if her desire round the clock.I don't recall what the antidote cost him, but he gladly paid the old shopkeeper the astronomical price to get 'her' out of his life.Perhaps the note could be "gifted" to a competiting note buyer?

I wrote a wholesaling article that will be beneficial if you decide to do it:http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4430/blog_posts/32194-attention-wholesalers-2-ways-to-stand-out-from-your-competition

The competition in the immediate area should provide good data on what the market rent should be, but suspect as well that one needs to compare apples to apples and include the effects of amenities.