The property has a lot of upside, we can build a third bedroom in the basement, update the kitchen and bathrooms, and the market keeps going up with a lot of people migrating into the area. 

I am also keenly aware of the quirks in the data, such as the fact that a city that expands its geographic boundaries will exhibit "population growth" but not a change in "migration".

Look at net migration and emigration.

You may find this article from U-haul interesting  as it tracks migration trends across the US. 

So Bayonne is benefiting from both of these migration trends, not to mention all the new development and the ferry to Downtown NYC coming soon.Now, to answer your specific questions regarding rentals (which is a great question):  I looked at MLS for all RENTED 2br/1bath apts that were listed since Jan 1 of this year.  114 of them have been rented, at an average price of $1,520. 

Something to consider especially since the state has a significant net out-migration mostly blamed on high taxes. 

Single family construction will absorb some of these households but there could be an imbalance here where the heavy construction rate still isn’t keeping up with inward migration.  

This caused them to migrate through the wall into the adjacent room (we suspected through electrical sockets or something similar). 

I used to be on Blogger but migrated to WordPress as my content grew.

Is the city growing, job base increasing, or is the city shrinking with people migrating away?