More expensive properties are likely that way because they have higher appreciation rates, higher rates of rent increases, and a better class of tenants which produce a less volatile and more passive cash flow stream, and a premium is built into this higher price as a result.The differences could be very difficult to spot too if you are not intimately familiar with the market ... even in seemingly the same market, a property may trade for a huge discount to a similar one literally a few blocks away ... it MAY be a great deal, or it MAY be that all the locals know that the cheaper property is just on the other side of the "wrong side of the tracks" and even though it is only a few blocks away it is in a much rougher "war zone" neighborhood with drug dealers, gangs, theft, homicides, etc running rampant, but you as an outsider looking in may not realize that looking only at the prices, pro forma NOI projections provided by the seller, pictures, etc. that the lower price is justified and not a great deal ... this is one of many reasons remote investing can carry much more risk ... caveat emptor. 

I've noticed the lower end is more volatile because they are often filled with homeowners that can't afford to hold onto the property in down times.While the higher income and wealthy might just be able to liquidate some stocks to pay the mortgage or tap into their savings, sell a business etc. what I noticed in L.A is that a lot of homeowners just rented if they wanted to move instead of selling in a bad market .

Student rentals can be so volatile and even when you have the parents on the hook it can be tough to collect.

Yes, I understand that everybody says and thinks that cash flow will always cover it no matter what, but cash flow is not guaranteed and in reality can and often is very volatile in the short run.

Not sure if/what lenders are ignoring the legal # of units..RENT LEVELSAlso, remember that West Oakland gets the spill-over from San Francisco, so is a more volatile version of that..

Then make sure you get a great deal where you can force some appreciation, sell for a profit to give you an alternate exit strategy if you should need or choose to take it, and insulate yourself to some degree from short term market volatility or if your projections are off.

One option if you are concerned about short term volatility is to flip ... if you are disciplined about what you buy, the price you pay, and your rehab timelines, you should be able to get in and out with a profit even if the market starts to go down, as that doesn't happen over night.At the other end of the extreme, if you have a very long time horizon (10-20+ years) then it also matters less if you buy at the market top or bottom as it all comes out in the wash and averages out over many decades, holding through both up and down cycles.

Volatility is not necessarily an indicator of impending doom.

Virtual currency may be extremely volatile and unpredictable because of it's unregulated nature.

These type of neighborhoods tend to be more volatile cash flow and price wise both.