Prices in that time frame were commonly inflated at an artificial level.

Yesterday August 20, 2019 the President of the United States said that they were considering Indexing Capital Gains for Inflation. 

I'd choose it based on which unit gets you the most rise in rent after upgrades, move into that one, fix it up, then rent it out (possibly to existing tenants who want to upgrade for higher rent), then repeat until all are upgraded, you've met your occupancy requirement, and then all can be rented at full market.    

Closer to downtown and down I-54 West, there’s still a good bit of development and i could see property values still on the rise there.

I think rates will continue to drop for the next several months and then rise in the beginning of 2020. 

Is your market rising, stable or likely to go down in the next 2-3 years?

I would just want to make sure that my money is keeping up with inflation and making a reasonable profit.

You current location might be to inflated right now.

Even after 10 years I could not sell the home for more than what I bought it for because I bought the home at an inflated price in 2005.  

At this time,-it's not the place I most advise someone to look since the home prices are pretty inflated for this reason.