@Jared GerkeYep, what @Nicholas L. said.Easiest way to build up is to start early, house hack and not overthink it.

The road is not in, the water main not installed, the sewer main and laterals not installed, etc.Just having the engineering done, and the plan approved, adds significant value to the land, and makes it attractive to a developer who now, doesn't have to go through all that work. while in todays day and age yo would need all those approvals to create a paper lot.. back in the olden days paper lots were created by simply drawing them on a map with zero engineering they did survey though.. and there was no thought given to reality of actually building them or providing services.. 

The property I purchased is unique and they are not building properties with lot sizes and features like it in the area so it stands out.

I am building a single family home along with an ADU and a Junior ADU (JADU) in Castro Valley, CA and the county wants to impose a deed restriction which will require owner occupancy of the JADU/Main Dwelling Unit (MDU) per CA - Gov.

Attend your local REI meetups to build up a strong network and feel free to reach out and connect with everyone in the community and find a mentor doing what you want to do. 

Huge proponent of the BRRR strategy, renovating to add value or even purchasing land and building something from scratch and building equity. 

I also know that Airdna is a great tool to search for markets; however, as someone new to real estate, evaluating and choosing between different markets is a lot to take in; I tend to get analysis paralysis when presented with loads of stats that I haven't quite yet learned how to analyze effectively.I should also mention that my idea is to buy some land and build an A-frame cabin.

Cap rate is more for performance of a building, where CapEx is more for reserves.  

I am currently working on securing a deal for a 9 unit condo new construction building in the boston area.

Leveraging an FHA loan for house hacking can be a smart way to start building wealth through real estate.