The population decreased drastically since 2000, although the decline seems to have stopped in recent years.

In running through numbers on direct mail marketing pieces I see the advantage to playing in larger populated areas.

The US Government's estimates of population growth are off.

Your right I should of been more specific      Primary and secondary markets3 to 30 acresStrong submarket fundamentals with low vacancy rates and high population growthUrban infill sites preferredZoning/entitlements may or may not be in placeBrownfield sitesLand assemblage

Know that areas with a high number of single parent households and unusually high concentration of minority populations can be challenging and the areas do not appreciate well.http://www.movoto.com/demographics/I use this property analysis tool on my iPhone 6+ to track my properties but did not care for their accounting software when I tried it years ago.

The growing Latino population is where I would invest if my strategy was strong in MF. 

It's getting pricey downtown (almost insane in some aspects) but job growth, diversity of industry and population growth is strong w/not much signs of letup yet.

You should always buy in cities where the largest populations are because there are more houses there.

I was leaning more towards black appliances since it will (likely) be more aesthetically durable; especially considering that since it's a student population and we will likely not have one long-term tenant.The flip side is that SS is popular and I think students will appreciate having SS (as long as it shows nice) and we might be able to squeeze a few extra rent dollars marketing the place.Thanks in advance for your input.

To me it seemed like a no-brainer to invest in a low market, but when you take into account the lack of population and job growth, it may not be as much of a no-brainer as I initially thought.