What are the best resources to determine the trend of a housing market over the last few years and project into the near future?

I clearly stated in the letter that we(my wife and i) are interested in the property, but would need owner financing for a couple of years before we could afford to refi and pay him off in full.

Hello BP,I'm in contract on a nice little rental house that has some great potential, there is just one catch.The existing tenants (very nice people) are an elderly couple (75+), on a fixed income, have a laundry list of health issues, and have a ton of stuff in the house, not hoarders but more stuff than 2 people should have.

Most of the families (hardworking, middle class) that we showed the apartment to were people who simply couldn't afford Dover prices anymore. 

@Xavier Jefferson some people can't afford a down-payment on a house and rent a SFH is the next best thing.

Also, great post on the Blog - The Creative Way to Gauge Whether You Can Afford Your Rental's Worst Case Scenario!

Put it differently, the multi-million dollar homes are not selling and more affordable lower million dollar homes are selling well.

Too many little expenses that I do not know if my mom can afford.

Or you can go a little North to Wilton that has excellent schools, or a little farther east to Westport, but Norwalk is by far the most affordable.

Eg, if the tenant can only afford $600 instead of $650, the property is empty for a month if the tenant leaves, then it'll take you 13 months to make up that missing month.In my opinion, empty properties don't make money.FWIW, we have dropped rents for tenants in the past, like the couple who had just had a child and her company fired her when she went into labor three weeks early.