Those investors are looking at excellent rent growth due to the area and appreciation in those cases.If the area is average the rent to sales ratio is typically 1.5 to 2.

But, I have a feeling that if you really dug into the numbers, you'd find that you're just creating an unwieldy infrastructure that's going to hinder your growth and reduce customer satisfaction.Again, just my $.02...

For example investing for cash flow and taking appreciation as a bonus, but focusing in areas that are not going to deflate  - and have reasonable appreciation currently with growth in population, employment, and other good economic indicators.

I've never done any sort of market analysis or know where to go to find job growth/population data. 

That said - I just read an article out of Builder Magazine Five Hottest Cities For Housing Growth for the next five tears.

I've lived and worked in various cities here and have witnessed the astronomical growth of the bubble-like economy in Silicon Valley.I've finally come to the conclusion that real estate investing is the way to go (wish I had arrived sooner!)

If we started seeing insane price growth due to the lending practices, then I'd think "bubble".

Jobs, good commute, income levels, rent vs own percentage, urban vs more rural areas, population growth, etc are many of the things most will look into.

Should I settle down with the rent and keep the house assuming it will appreciate or sell it and invest the equity somewhere (btw I am assuming real estate growth in nearby Neighbourhood would be same).

They've told me that rates go up because the country is seeing growth.