As a 23-year-old newbie investor looking for his first investment property and who has never felt the impact of a market crash or recession before (except when my parents cut down our expenses during the 2008 crisis), I'm unsure if I should be taking action or not. 

@Anthony Liguori, I agree with @Kenneth Garrett but want to add one piece.  2008 was the start of the last recession, and the market didn't bottom out until 2010/11. 

I'm a software engineer located in Los Angeles and my goal is to start investing in (ideally) multi-family homes and if not, then single-family homes through house-hacking and possibly flipping (although i know flipping may not be the best idea during a recession).

I used Foundations Systems of Michigan for encapsulating the crawl space.Before Pictures:Repairs/upgrades: PaintVinyl FlooringPorcelain FloorsBase Boards, Casing, moldingPlugs & OutletsFixturesBlindsLED Recessed LightsInterior & Screen Doors- removed exterior doors in kitchenStainless Steel Appliances Quartz CountertopsCabinetsBacksplashHookup- New Washer/DryerNew VanityVent FansToiletsTub/ShowerGuttersChimney Caps/Tuck PointHot Water Heater- 1Encapsulated Crawl Space, Added Sump PumpFurnace- 1After Pictures:Unit A: http://smartfloorplan.com/mi/v431539/player.plUnit B: http://smartfloorplan.com/mi/v431659/player.pl RentI rented unit A for $850 and unit B for $825 fairly easily.

You risk losing good tenants, during a recession.

But one thing that has always bothered me since the last recession is that it seems like EVERYBODY has been a winner in REI.

Everyone from zillow to your barber was calling for a recession in early 2020, and then we got the shutdown. 

So 10% - by the end of the upcoming recession housing market will be valued at roughly $30 TRILLION. 

This, of course, does not factor in economic recessions, fluctuations within the market, or a drastic change in crime rate, school systems, job growth/decay, or migration.

Midwest is typically a linear market during recessions prices don’t drop as drastic as the coastal cities since we don’t have crazy appreciations.