Viability of Flipping in Expensive Neighborhoods

This was a question posed to me via PM that I wanted to share for the entire community and welcome feedback and questions from everybody interested in the topic.

"Hi, Will

Thanks for sharing your valuable experience at the forum-- I have been learning a lot from you. I am a newbie in the flipping business and I have a basic question about the viability of this strategy in more expensive neighborhood: I live in the south bay area and the medium price here is somewhere between $500k~$1M depending on the exact area, and the market is very competitive and price appreciation has been a norm on for a while and a lot of areas are already way above the pre-crash highs.

You are in a market that's similar to mine. So I am wondering, how you find deals in your area for flips? How can I know flipping is even a viable strategy in my market?

I would appreciate any advice that helps a newbie to explore this direction. Thank you!"