Obviously having a market where the price to rent ratio is favorable but what other metrics (or non-hard data) should I be looking for?

By managing myself I can obtain 50% lower vacancy, 30% lower turn cost and 50% lower management fees (I pay myself 5%), thus lowering my expenses by a metric boat load (technical term) as compared to hiring a 3rd party company to manage for me. 

She may be able to answer a lot of questions for you.Also,In a number crunch of 300 cities using 10 metrics ranging from home prices to tax rates to vacancy levels, WalletHub determined that Montgomery, Alabama, was the nation’s most affordable city for homebuyers.

Me too.. work there but dont own any .. location is the metric period in my mind..

Lindekugel - residential housing inventory was definitly overbuilt between 2000 and 2007 by every possible metric, housing starts, vacant inventory, inventory under construction, and months of supply.

Whenever I use someone else's I am confused by some of the metrics that may be important to them but not to me. 

I bet unless you are an appreciation/asset play individual it is going to be hard to find something that has Cash Flow/ROI/COC metrics that play out.  

Have investors become so savvy that they know what 2-3 metrics matter and only focus on them?

Do you HAVE to be fully aware of all the metrics and calculations that go into buying properties for profit before you buy?

You know what metrics you want to track better than anyone else