Folks forget rates did not drop below 6% until 2009, which was due the nearly collapse of the world economy and of course the rock bottom 4 and under was a result of the world shutting down due to covid.  

However, between the work-from-home ability and the recent crime spike in D.C. post covid, many businesses have moved just outside the city to areas like Alexandria and Arlington, which in their own regard already had thriving business environments.This macro trend, along with the massive amount of economic and infrastructure development happening in Alexandria will lead to massive rent growth and home price appreciation over time. 

So if I am looking at an asset as a 10 year play - I look more at the location, schools and how has this market performed in the past excluding covid and 2008 which were extenuating circumstances.Reality is right now shorter term plays do not work based on numbers and cost of financing - we went through this same thing in 2001-2004ish timeframe where properties would appreciate 2-3% per year and after buying costs and closing costs - you were not making money on assets unless you performed the labor or found a really good deal.this is how real estate "typically" is - which is why everyone always says location location location - because after a decent holding period, you will win.

Since I bought this house during Covid, equity has dramatically gone up.

I’d also love to hear your thoughts on how the short-term rental market has been evolving lately.Looking forward to seeing your contributions and insights here—it sounds like you have a lot of valuable experience to share.

BRRR worked great pre COVID but only really cash flows now in high crime areas. 

My one worry is if the stock value goes down when I retire, like the stock market went down at the beginning of COVID. 

The first one we bought in Jan 2020 and it came of the gates roaring rentals wise in 2020 only to hit the covid wall.

So I called the justice court, and they sheepishly admitted, that Nevada concealed all evictions in the last 4 years do to Covid!

It's honestly an interesting time because of everything that has happened with rates, and covid, and lockdowns and such no real history to look back on.