Due to the declining population, you're not going to see the appreciation you would in booming markets like Houston. 

I live in Dallas Ft Worth and the area is booming.

I sat out the pandemic boom because I'm a creative finance cash flow investor.

I have gotten wholesalers send me deals with comps that are clearly from the boom days of 6+ months ago and the current market would not support them.If you use price per sq. ft, be sure you are comparing apples to apples and not bananas. 

I want to be very intentional on location and land properties/units in grade A neighborhoods (or pretty close) and where economies are booming.

I live in a so called "cashflow market" (Milwaukee) and have always made a lot more on equity than on cash flow, even before the last 3 years.But I also know investors who have grown and managed a portfolio "city cash flow properties" for decades and have almost nothing to show for - because capex exceeded cash flow.High appreciation markets are also risky to invest - while I feel very strongly about that market not going to crash as a whole, I am not so sure if markets like TX will not come under pressure after the exuberant gains of the last years.The Midwest is the only region left with an affordability index over 100 (median family can afford a median home), so just like communicating vessels in physics we may see a market rebalancing, where remote workers will move to where living expenses are affordable (not only housing) and boom markets will see an adjustment (not a crash).And even if you are an apartment syndicator, you need cash flow to boost NOI - there is just no way around it.

I recommend the major cities in Ohio:-Columbus, great for appreciation, pp is a bit higher around $220k for multifamily-Cincinnati, has a mix of cash flow and appreciation, average multifamily around $180k-Cleveland, has alot of cashflow potential, average multiform around $140kThere are other smaller markets like Dayton, Akron, and and Newark, which we are starting to see these areas boom due to huge investors and corporations like Intel choosing to set up shop in these kind of areas.

Charlotte is booming, Asheville is hot, and the surrounding areas are suffering from a rental shortage. 

In case the market crash, he will just hold the properties over to the next booming cycle.  

Texas is not a boom bust market .. more of a slow & steady market, although, one could argue the last 12 months have been anything but slow & steady.