My next step will be to look at historical rates..but hoping that a veteran of the area has the quick answer!  

In my message I listed all the neighborhoods in LA that broke historic records of heat and that it's out of my control.

You might do that for a historical building with constant standing water in the basement.

Historically, tightening cycles lead to recession!

And even though today's rates are still (historically) crazy low, they're higher than 4%.

Now, because rates are currently historically low and rising now is the time to get cheap money.

It seems that I should focus on what historically works (making meaningful connections with my SOI and beyond) and to spend money on marketing that enhances those efforts.

Just thought it would be interesting to share historical values to get everyone on the bigger picture.

The areas between Washington and Harrison is the central areas that have been historically stigmatized.   

Your goals to focus on buy and hold properties seems sound, and getting started at a young age will allow time to be on your side, to take advantage of some gains due to inflation, changing market conditions, historical trends and your experience in the RE market.