Firstly I apologize that I do not have any market insights data specifically, but Houston has been a rough market as valuations have pulled back.

You picked a great community to join.. have you checked out local comps to gauge the market vibe yet?

Look at all the population growth, job growth, and companies moving/developing here - it's absolutely blowing up and Columbus is one of the hottest markets in the entire US. 

Hopefully you are starting to see these investments as products and they have a set market price.

You could put most of your funds in the stock market and access them when needed for a HML.

This is my market and I live and work in 78610.

Get it under agreement for less than asking price and offer to bring the loan current and have them carry that loan.The way I see it is they are just getting MLS properties under agreement - the last five I looked at had been sitting on the market for more than 150 days (overpriced) because the payoff of the loan would not be satisfied at lower price point. 

I took my thrashing as you know in 2020  I do know some of my clients that sell turnkey have been keeping the houses and doing BRRRR instead of selling them to investors that part of the market has slowed signficantly for many in that industry.

Unless you are sourcing properties yourself off-market, REI became much more challenging in 2023, and downright brutal since the start of 2024 here.   

Study the market.