Stock market volatility is all the more reason to have cash flowing real estate.

We're still in a historically low rate period and I hear conventional rates have taken a dip lately, but 5.75% is a pretty solid rate.Rates change daily, sometimes hourly depending on market volatility, so how do you know what the rate  should be on any given day? 

There are a handful of houses that would seem to work for me and work numbers-wise, but they have been on the market for almost a year, and in this volatile market, it makes me wary of making an offer...Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated!

This volatile REIT is not the norm in that space. 

The "value of the property" didn't matter if you were buying and holding for the long-term.Granted in REI the fluctuations are much slower than the volatility in stock prices day to day, quarter to quarter.

Higher return than bank assets, lower volatility than stocks, but certainly not without risk.  

Here are some strategies that you may wish to employ in light of where we are in the market cycle:1.Focus on the right asset – multifamily real estate is popular during times of uncertainty because people have a preference for renting during times of uncertainty and because it is valued intrinsically, it is less prone to large swings in sentiment which can impact the value of single family homes. 2.Invest in real estate - it represents diversity in your overall portfolio so if you are taking cash out of equities to invest in real estate then you are potentially building yourself a portfolio that is positioned for excess returns with lower volatility.

Then you have markets like San Fran and New York that are more volatile, will appreciate, but probably not going to cash flow.

If any market has been recession resistant it’s been many of the Midwest metro markets that have had overall low volatility.

I think it is accurate to describe Bend as a highly volatile market, so be careful is my point I am hoping to share.