If the population shrinks, all of the above get hurt.All of that said, I have been priced out of the local apartment market and am investing out of state.

Not to mention, my pre foreclosure lists from the MLS have been shrinking due to the declining number of notice of defaults in San Diego, California.So in response, I'll be looking into researching other types of leads outside of pre foreclosures, focusing primarily on the '4 D's' (death, disease, divorce, and disaster) in the next 2 weeks in preparation for my 4th upcoming campaign in 3 weeks.

And you will slowly sit back and watch those $15k profit shrink, either in price reductions or in holding cost, even in negotiations.

@Edith TenBroek congrats on shrinking the debt.  

That way your responsibilities shrink significantly.

Existing single family portfolios are being sold to residential buyers and forcing tenants into a shrinking pool for rental housing.  

@John Chapman  I know I paint a broad brush.. but if your unlucky enough to get a house that settles 6 inchs because of soil shrinking.. then you have to deal with it.I have one left and god I hope I can get it off the books in the next 60 days.last one I sold while in escrow monster hail storm had to replace roof had to postpone sale had to pay deductible   all in all cost us about 4 to 5k ... and owner got a brand new stinkin roof. 

I would shrink the refrigerator to a single 28 - 32" wide space and install a dishwasher between it and the sink.  

However, in order to win you have to be willing to shrink your margins here, and that's where dealing with HMLs becomes less appealing because of the added costs.

To the point that @Brie Schmidt made, the pool of investors interested in 3-4 unit buildings shrinks when you fall outside conforming and FHA limits.