Why not test the market by putting the lots up for sale, and if nobody bites, that might provide your answer. 

Judges also postpone sale dates for buyers with financing, so cash is likely not necessary to get the date moved.

The reason is the rent-to-price ratio is good so you can cash flow, and most of the West side doesn’t have a Point of sale inspection which is really annoying.

I thought I could take this opportunity and learn from it without having to buy property.

I feel a loss of direction and that makes it really hard for me to focus and build.Do we keep at building a portfolio of small multi family (very abundant in my market, very rare to find anything above a triplex for sale), with plans of selling the portfolio and 1031'ing into larger properties? 

Quote from @Jadan Williams: Hello bigger pockets experts, I currently live in california but will list my house for sale within the next couple months i want to use between 100-200k for an investment but not sure how to go about it.

We now have an opportunity to move into my parents home which is bigger and “take it over”.

I love finding VA Assumption Loan deals and have personally secured one so far as a rental property with a 3.3% interest rate.  I've come across another deal where the cash to close is roughly $22-25k and will secure ...

I could say a particular town or area, but if there aren't any, many properties for sale that doesn't help. 

pid=2141Houston Real Estate Highlights for December and Full-Year 2024:-Following two consecutive years of declines, single-family home sales rebounded in 2024 with 85,163 single-family homes sold compared to 84,038 in 2023 an increase of 1.3 percent; -Total property sales for full-year 2024 were statistically flat at 101,864 units while the total dollar volume increased 3.1 percent to $41 billion;-December single-family home sales climbed 16.3 percent year-over-year with 7,162 units sold;-Total December property sales increased 13.6 percent to 8,478 units;-Total dollar volume for December rose 20.5 percent to $3.5 billion;-The single-family home median price edged up by 1.3 percent to $334,290 while the average price increased 5.0 percent to $425,150;-Single-family homes months of inventory expanded to a 4.0-months supply;-The townhome/condominium market experienced declining sales throughout 2024, and in December, volume declined 5.8 percent, with the average price up 2.5 percent to $268,152 and the median price statistically flat at $234,250;-Townhome/condominium inventory improved from a 3.5-months supply to 5.4 months.