If you really want an incredible unbias analysis of the market place, read the following from the Arizona State University Real Estate Dept & Economics.

Interview: Appraiser Who Brought Down Countrywide By Isaac Peck, Associate EditorThe U.S. housing bubble and the corresponding real estate market crash of 2007-2008 brought about one of the most severe economic downturns in America since the Great Depression.

I knew it was a great rental market (60% rental in the city as opposed to 40% owner occupied) and despite the population trends and Kodak I knew from living there that there was still economic development and growth.

I am now contemplating whether it would make economical sense to pay off the first multi-family unit before purchasing a second one.

Mike, if you start applying economics to 2 or 3 rentals, you'll experience the law of deminishing returns very quickly.

If the note is exchanged to facilitate the purchase and sale of a minor asset or consumer good, to correct for the seller’s cash-flow difficulties, or to advance some other commercial or consumer purpose, on the other hand, the note is less sensibly described as a “security.” .Second, we examine the “plan of distribution” of the instrument, to determine whether it is an instrument in which there is “common trading for speculation or investment”.Third, we examine the reasonable expectations of the investing public: The Court will consider instruments to be “securities” on the basis of such public expectations, even where an economic analysis of the circumstances of the particular transaction might suggest that the instruments are not “securities” as used in that transaction. […]Finally, we examine whether some factor such as the existence of another regulatory scheme significantly reduces the risk of the instrument, thereby rendering application of the Securities Acts unnecessary.

As far as I know Seattle is not having the same economic difficulties as Detroit.So what bits of information should I be looking for when analyzing a market?

So, that's another "beware" sign.I've been to Jonesboro and examined banks there, met lots of different people with varing levels of socio-economic savy about them, but never met anyone willing to give 30 thousand buck away.

But for me, I did my research and I'm personally not interested and my advice to investors was to do their economic research first as well.

I know this was a common practice pre-crisis but as we all know several of those industry standards haven't come back.