Amid mounting evidence that the rapid rise in home prices is over, investors in rental property will have more options over the next few years as sellers outnumber buyers and prices deflate – slowly in most markets but very rapidly in others.

As has ALWAYS happened in the past, home prices and rents will eventually re-align with local income. This readjustment may take years but investors don’t need to wait that long to spot good opportunities.

In all real estate markets, some local areas do better than others, on the downside as well as in boom times. Investors can spot the differences using solid local data.

Local data can tell you if there will be strong or weak demand for housing, in what rent range you find the heart of the rental market, and what type of investment will fare best in the local housing mix. Then investors can decide if an available property is a good fit for the local conditions. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.