Institutionals make up just a tiny fraction of the market, not enough to move the needle even a little.

Invest in fractionalized notes or note funds/syndications3.

(full disclosure-I knew the guy, or know him, he's not dead just gone from the auctions and haven't talked to him in a few years, but he was always nice to me and I don't have a clue as to the validity of the federal charges against him, but he always treated me decently and I've got nothing bad to say about him and I know other landlords who've been demonized and slurred as slumlords when I think they simply bit off more than they can chew, while other real slumlords seem to operate for years, as long as they don't get too big) He used to kind of dominate those auctions and maybe that was a good thing, as I'm sure there's a whole cast of characters who've filed that void.Thing is, ANY property under $100k, maybe even under $150k or $200k will certainly have multiple bidders, there are a LOT of people like me when I'm looking, who have the subscription to the sheriff's sales info reports from the Daily Reporter ($600/year and you get the results emailed to you in an Excel spreadsheet on Tues, next weeks auctions emailed on Thurs) and another good indicator is I'm on an email list for one of the firms (actually out of Chicago) which handles a tiny, tiny fraction of the cases and I've looked at the "cc list" or whatever you'd call it if ALL the addresses that email is sent to and there are HUNDREDS of them on there and this is for I think Johnson Blumberg, who many weeks don't even have any cases in MKE or Waukesha Cty.

@Chris MartinAgree5-6 years ago when blockchain rage was saying all real estate will be on blockchain - still have yet to see a way blockchain is used where it has added benefitThe odds of getting counties all to buy into this and fire the clerks working at recording office for last 30 years is not gonna happen.Similar to seeing “fractionalized” real estate - which to me is no different than a public company and owning shares - you have a cap table.

These, for the most part, prevent wild "bad faith" moves.Other investments I have like DSTs and crowdfunding involve actually owning a fraction of a physical building or complex.

I've read where the response rate to wholesalers cold calling a leads list is some fraction of 1%.  

A promissory note in which a fractionalized interest is sold is a security but the sale of which may be exempt from registration by the exemption for intra state offerings if all investors reside in a single state.  

You can do this for well under a fraction of what the cost is. 

I've looked into 1031 a couple times and I was always surprised at the fees involved but I suppose its still a fraction of the depreciation recapture and capital gains.

Of course, you would not have a remaining equity split to deal with, but the dollars per distribution/time to distribute concept is the same.BTW, in 16 years of setting up self-directed IRA plans, fractional distributions in-kind was my least favorite strategy.