They are educating the consumer that there are dozens of investors that want to buy my house for cash, so they now have choices, and wholesalers are often overpaying.I would concentrate on gap cities/counties in between larger metros.

This year will also test the U.S. consumer's ability to continue spending.

If you are it’s very time consuming.

That’s not a political or even moral arguement just basic math, in theory if zoning allows it and we get more skilled immgration at least economic theory suggest they should be able to build more houses per person that they consume.

I don't have any vacation rental experience aside from the consumer side.

From my perspective, working with a company that will do all the registering and serve as registered agent isn't very time consuming.

In @Rick Albert numbers starting with a negative $110 equity position consumes years of cash flow.  

We are seeing signs of higher demand even though rates remain high, months of inventory decreasing, multiple offers becoming very common again, and consumer confidence increasing.We are expecting these trends to continue as the news headlines continue to shift and report much more positive market conditions.

This may be time consuming, but it's most certainly a lower risk way to get your beak wet than syndication or flip funding or some other arrangement where you'll have to place your trust in others, plus I would assume that syndication/flip-funding deals in your area of CA would also have higher capital requirements than other US locations anyhow. 

Though it consumes some cash flow, and whether that's your primary focus or not, It makes life much more hassle free.