Investing BEFORE a Possible Downturn

[Paul B.]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first BP post, although I've been a longtime reader and listener to the podcast. After a pretty rough start to my investing career (which probably could have been avoided if I had known about BP), I now own a couple of condos, a house and a guest house all as long term rental properties that are cash flowing positively.   

One question that I've wondered about for a while that I've only been able to get limited information on, is what type of REAL ESTATE assets tend to perform best during a downturn?  As in, not only do they lose minimal value, but ideally they continue to rent and cash flow decently even when downturns do occur?  I'm of the belief that one is overdue in my area, so I would like at the very least like for my next investment to be of a safer variety if this does occur.  

For example, my agent I worked with on my last home purchase was telling me about some very small condos (~400 sqft) in a built-up area near me that tend to do very well during economic downturns, as they simply don't have any competition in their price range.  In one case, they actually increased in value during a recession.  I'm wondering if there are some other types of real estate assets with similar recession protection that I'm not thinking of.  

Thanks in advance for anyone who has good tips or resources that I missed that I could take a look at!