I’m hoping that once I do have enough saved I can buy the second property and continue house hacking.

Property Appreciation: For long-term holds, I always compare rent growth with broader market appreciation.

How bad is this going to continue to hold back the CRE market?

How I would go about it is bring a deal to someone ( a friend or colleague) that I knew had money, offer them the terms I have in mind and continue until I find one.

Plus you'll most likely make more money in home value growth compared to a multi family. 

We are continuing to do regular flips and wholesale deals,  4 new builds this year.

Realistically you would expect the house to continue to appreciate during that time as well... even if at 3.33% appreciation - that is another $50,000 in appreciation you would make in the 3 years - give or take.  

As for the areas to target, my goal in getting our feet wet as real estate investors--and since we plan to be living in Sac--is to find a property we can live in while renting out one or more units to help cover our housing expenses, which we can then hold and continue to rent out when we move.

How do you approach balancing immediate cash flow with long-term equity growth in your investments? 

I have a job that also affords me a lot of spare time in my schedule and I'm looking to use that time to begin/continue/grow a real estate portfolio.