I am a native New Yorker who has relocated to the sunny beaches of the Emerald Coast.

Sounds like you have some cash/assets you've built up, along with great credit, and being a fellow "New Yorker", you're "used to" higher dollar amounts for rents/properties.  

Here's a place that you can find a number of companies offering skip trace services: PI magazine.

@Michael Quarles - You pissed that New Yorker off, man.

Quote from @Jihan Lee: Quote from @Nadeem Alamgir: Hey Jihan, former New Yorker here (Queens, NY). 

I am also a New Yorker looking to invest in the Midwest. 

Many Brokers have decided to charge a $2500 min fee on any house sold, well some of the houses dont even sell for that price and it doesn't cost that to take a picture and print in a magazine so the fee makes the deal a bust therefore it sits there rotting. 4.

As the other responders have said you have to be very careful about reading magazine articles and then taking a one dimensional view ignoring general  demographics while looking at individual market  statistics. 

The normal investor looks in a trade magazine for the best looking real estate agent and calls them to say something like.

I’ll be calling and mailing to two different markets and market places For cold calling, car magazines and junk for sale magazines work best.