Low cap rates are like Blue Chip stocks meaning that investors will take lower returns because the assets have a good, low-risk, long-term outlook.Cap rates in multi-family have been driven down to absurd levels long before interest rates started to go up. 

Note the purple lines are the Metro Routes, the circular area highlighted cities within 35 miles from our home, the yellow and blue markers denote the cities of primary interest for us...As you can see, Salem didn't make the list, but only because of size. 

It will blend with blue much better.

Unemployment in blue collar industry seems low.- Jason is right, most homeowner would not sell their homes, because they want to play the game, everyone knows in 2025 things would be better so strategy is to wait at least for another 18 months for "wait and see".

For a 'lighter" rehab/renovation work I would consider: new paint, fixtures, new lighting (i.e. ceiling fans), and perhaps some new flooring in certain locations.

And then we went from lighters at concerts to cell phones in a span of 20 years from 1990 to 2010.

researching were trends are going  IE the move back into the urban core hip cool neighborhoods.. you take some risk sure.. and in the beginning there is not much or any cash flow but then when houses start selling to owner occ the game is on.. if SFR homes really never sell to owner occ they will just trundle along and the value will only be what another investor will pay for a given rental rate.. pop  it into the BP calculator and that spits out the value.. which stays stagnet unless rents rise a ton.. which in many markets that simply does not happen rents stay pretty stable.. so for the blue collar type rental areas or towns.. that's the stability.. not much up but not much down so you need Doors.. and then to get doors U need ton of debt generally.. and that alone takes on risk of some sort. 

For ski towns, Silverthorne, Dillon, Blue River, Breckenridge, Keystone, Beaver Creek, Aspen, and Vail are all have certain areas and zones that are friendly. 

@Adriana Arnold I will never buy and rent house in blue state .

She agreed and did not send us anything for 20 days and then seemingly out of the blue sent me the address of a home for sale.