Look at some market statistics to see how values have changed market wide over the last 5 years that will give you a rough indication. 

Check airDNA and get statistics. 

Could be local market statistics, information on grants for 1st time buyers locally, etc etc...

You can probably find statistics showing where climate related risks to property are likely to increase.

Not because they suddenly love their house again, but because the path to a workable deal broke down.Layer on the fact that foreclosures are climbing, and the picture sharpens.These aren’t abstract statistics.

I'm interested in fix & flip and rentals, and have some experience with both, though not a ton and not in New York I'd love to chat with investor-focused lenders, investors, Realtors, contractors, people familiar with buying foreclosures, and people who know the areas.I really do try to do my own research but all the statistics and comps in the world don't tell the whole story and I'd love some insight from locals!

Better tenants are easier to manage and require very basic resources.Tenants with under 600 credit scores statistically require higher more resources to properly manage.One of the managers of Nomad responded on another thread that they are a tech-focused service and NOT personal service oriented.- I take that to mean they can handle Class A and most Class B tenants, but not Class B-, C or D tenants.They probably are also NOT a good match for owners expecting personal calls and hand-holding.

-The single-family median price was statistically flat at $335,000.

The artificial gold rush of STRs painted a false picture of expectations in the short run in TN (we had some of that too in NC), but now the days on market and price reduction statistics in eastern TN are pretty hard to ignore as they outpace almost every Southeastern market. 

we usually prioritize metrics like private insurance numbers, overall population, % of population in psychographic profile we are searching for (generally "YXB" from experian, aka "young families), FBI crime statistics, and then we generally layer in competition as well and have a "max competitors" in that zone.This allows us to go through the market we are considering, or state, or multi states as in your case, apply a systematic "prioritization" and then we get granular and look at each market and area that "qualifies" in more detail.The largest benefit to going with the midwest over your other markets is the long term livability and survivability in those climates.