Researching your local market

[tmfs]

I've read 5-6 books on real estate investing and I'm looking to get ready to buy an investment property. In all real estate literature knowing your local real estate market is always mentioned yet I have not read a single method of obtaining this knowledge. Is there actual sources of statistics that you can study for specific cities or is it solely limited to large economic indicators like state employment levels and the like?

[Fishhead24]

I like zillow.com for the housing markets. Not exactly what your looking for, but it will help with your housing real estate needs.

Have you heard me mention/promote farmland as a possible real estate investment here on this forum? One can earn 5-7% YPR renting the land(with no maintenance) and currently the market is much more bullish than that of the crumbling housing markets. In the last 12 months this investment is up 20% in certain midwest areas of the country....mainly Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska, and Iowa.