I think there are faster ways using MLS, but I use the interactive map feature on ziprealty.com and look for clusters of stuff for sale in a given community.
Then I look at the photos and it’s usually really obvious which ones are flips gone bad – overpriced, on the market forever, words in the listing like “upgraded” “granite” “ready-to-move-in”.
Then if I’ve got some time I’ll check those on zillow.com. For apartment complexes/condos, you can put in the street address without the apartment number and it will give you a list of all the properties there and when they last sold. From there you can dig into the sales prices, assessed value, etc.
