I consider inventory rates, price trends, unemployment data, population growth, job growth all to be relevant to where a market is at and where a market is heading.

A tenant lost his job at the same time as his wife, I met with them and found out they had family in Atlanta thay could move in with, but didn't have the money to get there.

They usually do not have these figured out, I mean sure, everyone wants to 'make money', or ' own 10 properties in 3 years', or (my favorite) 'replace their W2 job in 5 years'.....but they have not thought any further than those basic (and misguided) goals.

Home prices will likely vary by region, with modest increases in areas of high demand and stable job markets, while others may stabilize or decline.

Martin the property management argument isn't really an argument if you look at the bigger picture that most investors don't want to manage their properties anyways because they are spending most of the time on their main job.

Sometimes it's best to cut your losses and move on.

Jobs.

For the 10 year period spanning November 2014-2024, single-family prices in Austin nearly doubled, yielding an annualized appreciation rate of ~9% in that period.With inflation nearing its 2% target and signs of a slowing labor market, The Federal Reserve recently made its third cut to the federal funds rate since the start of the COVID pandemic.

The job of cash flow is to pay back your cash in. 

Ben Russell has done an excellent job of covering differences in the lease.