On the day the stock market crashed (the Great Recession; you may have read about it!)

The investor/agent guys, because they had built up their brokerage business, even in the recession, they were able to live on commissions and keep taps on the pulse of the market.

Florida housing prices, which hit a peak in December 2006, are slowly and gradually recovering after the Great Recession nosedive — the state’s fall was among the harshest in the nation — but lately, the trend is positive, stoking renewed interest in real estate.According to the S & P / Case-Shiller index, considered one of the most reliable indicators of market trends of local real estate, real estate prices in the Miami area have been in uninterrupted march upward from November 2011.

The pre-recession sharks would 100% target whoever they deemed easy "marks," more or less using stereotypes in that determination, local to wherever they happened to be. 

According to HUD, rental vacancy peaked at 13.1% during recession, back down to 8.6% by 2015, no current data.  

It doesn't work out all roses like we'd like and in the new world since the great recession, they are addressed as an unlawful practice with triple damage awards possible!

Income issues are only one of the many reasons tenants face eviction.During the Great Recession we naturally saw more evictions because folks (even responsible ones) were losing jobs left and right.

This would seem to be as recession-proof of an investment as you could find.

From my experience, the majority seem to be people in a "transitional" life stage, (i.e. empty nesters, students, newlyweds, just graduated, relocated for job, etc.) as Michael mentioned.Also, as Chad touched on, with the general population having massive student loan debt, general spending debt, or those who are still recouping after the recession, renting allows them the time to build/re-build credit, savings, etc.

Plumbing rough in = $375 + $0 labor = $3753 new vents, 7 supply lines and 3 waste lines, shower valve.Electrical = $500 + $200 labor = $6003 plugs, shower light, vanity lights, under vanity lights, 3 recessed lights, switches, Panasonic exhaust fan.