Maybe ask the authors of those for where they got those stats?

Generally speaking there are 2 main types of loans for investors: “Conventional” and “Portfolio”Conventional - I'll define these as loans that come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (if you recognize those names).

Not believing him I went to the housing authority website myself and found 5 properties advertised that were within his budget.  

Takeaway point:  Don't make the mistake of believing that the way things currently are, are the way they'll always be.Finally:  Recognize that this is your dream, not necessarily theirs. 

When the realtor drove me to the house, found the seller chatting with a buyer that she recognized outside the house.

We believe that either of these actions would materially increase the risk of unnecessary loss or otherwise avoidable problems for the vast majority of our investors who have not requested to redeem and intend to stay invested for the long term.We recognize that the current coronavirus pandemic is evolving every day and therefore the situation may change rapidly.

I am trying to be reasonable and recognize the property manager's side, however, these provisions (and quite a few others) seem potentially problematic and unreasonable to the owner.

A smart appraiser will recognize this, and so does the client (the bank).

Apparently the housing authority thinks market rent for the zip code is higher than I do!

Good on you for recognizing you made a mistake.At the very least, you should mail (certified) them a notice to cure as I'm sure their smoking and noise disturbances are probably violating terms of your lease.