You can use that data to model out your cashflow.  

CoC/IRR analysis, I find:- The data you need to do cap rate analysis is already about 80% of the data you need to do a CoC/IRR analysis so might as well do the CoC/IRR.- After doing a cap rate analysis, I feel the need to do CoC/IRR anyway to verify the result of the cap rate analysis.- I still need to do CoC analysis to make sure I’m cash flow positive.Now when you're getting into an investment initially and having to choose from a few similar properties I can see how you can use cap rate for comparison but when it comes to SFR's I'm not sure if cap rate is any better than the 1% rule (which is way simpler than cap rate).Incidentally, I just noticed Grant Cardone just posted about how important CoC is to him and how CoC had kept him out of trouble throughout his career. :-)Cheers...

Being an agent may be the obvious answer, but what are some other jobs that could be tackled that are entry-level, but could be filled by someone getting into the investor world?

There are new wi-fi models that clamp onto the pipes and send all the data to the cloud.

The City of Austin is currently in the midst of a complete overhaul of its outdated land use and development code in an attempt to address some of these issues.According to Austin MLS data, the median price of a single-family home in Austin increased 68% over the past decade.

@Robert Rodrigues Zillow and many other experts that have way more data than I do see the Austin market being the hottest market of all in the US in 2020 so I'd say it probably won't slow down.

The point is it's a low-cost entry (along with making calls) to proactively get after deals instead of just reacting to the MLS.   

Is it possible to get data on vacancy rate by neighborhood?

Where does everyone gather market performance data from?

- Most HMLs can provide a lightly-worded pre-approval letter based on data from a preliminary application.