All else being equal, lower mortgage rates reduce the cost of ownership and, thereby, allow more people to afford to buy.

Due to current interest rates, many CAP rates are much lower than they should be and usually there is only so much price discount a non-delinquent seller will be able or willing to offer.

If you can’t do a 1031 to a non-income tax state, figure out a year when you will have lower income and tax rates ar as low as possible.

Mean while i would be building equity, and if rates do lower, or when the term ends, could refi for better rates and then maybe cash flow.My questions are:Is this too naively optimistic?

There's usually a good reason why the entry points are lower.

It's OK to be more tenacious with negotiating down, and make the most out of a slowing market to buy at lower prices.

In a market like this where properties are sitting a bit longer, buyer demand is kind of stagnant, many appraisals have been coming in lower than anticipated.

There are some zip codes where you can indeed get above market rent with S8 (even after deducting utility allowance), but some where they are lower.

Typically lenders will use the total rent being collect or the market rent given on your appraisal, which ever is lower.

For example, should we focus on acquiring one high-quality property in a strong market, or would it make more sense to spread the investment across multiple lower-cost units in emerging areas?