Heavy emphasis on caveat emptor here, do plenty of diligence. 

Not just that there is too much competition.

Instead, they base rent estimates on the current competition.

For preferred jumbo investor lending programs check in with @Joseph Chiofalo to help with baseline structuring and a Pre Approval vs PreQual which has helped several of my luxury buyers win competitive offerings.

In addition, targeted searches for "apartments 77008" and "greater heights apartments" have lower competition which provides a great opportunity for organic and lower cost of acquisition.

With all that competition, do you think it is still worth trying to invest in STRs in the area? 

I suspect then that your giving a very competitive rate compared to other HML at that point ??

 the more competitive rates are  6.9% for 20% down owner occupied, 780 credit score. 7.45 and 1 point for a duplex seems pretty solid.

I recently saw a post from Anthony Walker asking experienced real estate professionals and those newer to the business about gaining a competitive advantage and it got me thinking about what competitive advantages a real estate private equity firm can attain in their business.

This can make it challenging to find competitive terms if you do not fit a certain credit box.