Historically, rents haven't been as volatile as housing prices.

After reading a bunch of investment books, I am now realizing that investing in the stock market is too volatile, mutual funds are no bueno, and that real estate is what I want to start investing in.

I know the time value of money and such plays into affect, but since I planned on having it paid for in 10 years anyway, I would be saving the balance into a safe account for the balloon anyway rather than putting it into other properties or stocks where it would be volatile.

(This is the most dangerous and volatile type of investing) Then structure your portfolio accordingly. 

I don't think NYC's finance or SF's tech are immune to these market cycles, and in reality these industries actually just serve to make them more volatile. 

I guess I keep looking around thinking, hmmm, the stock market was flat last year, and promises nothing but volatility these days, and here's an option to possibly get 8-10% on a one-year investment.

One reason not to invest in Las Vegas is that it is one of the most volatile and severely hit markets in the country.

Inventory and volume are both really low, so there likely be high volatility depending if buyers or sellers emerge in the spring, personally see a small increase or aggressive appreciation if inventory stays low (2-3 months of current inventory).    

.- Your property has generated substantial equity in the past few years- You are an active investor looking to maximize your net worth aggressively- You're willing to move those funds into assets that are less volatile (i.e. markets that don't go up or down as much) but with higher residual income until your next opportunity to invest in equity arises. 

Many homeowners bought way more house than they should have, using volatile financing like option-ARM's and interest-only loans.