Obviously, this is a speculative question and nobody has a crystal ball on this issue, however, I think close consideration of the fundamentals are important in making a decision about this.

“The liability for income tax ultimately can be fairly determined without resort to mere estimates, assumptions, and speculation.

I thought he had been banned from BiggerPockets for doing that, but I guess they just locked the thread and that's all. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1155771-seaso...By the way, there was a comment where someone speculated that his answers were the same as ChatGPT because ChatGPT learned the answers from his post. 

@Allan Smith ah, the age-old cashflow vs. appreciation debate...where one stands on this debate should depend on their financial picture.A 20 yr old kid with no net worth can't afford to break even month to month on their first property, and they can't afford the risk of speculation on future appreciation...that's too much risk for them because they have nothing to protect themselves when things turn south. 

The idea for these folks is that if you are banking on appreciation, you are essentially speculating rather than investing. 

So as  things stand, renting is a pure speculation play. 

REI is still equity speculation that the area will appreciated, and your rent will keep up with costs. 

That may sound speculative, but in some degree all forms of investing are.

It would be hard for anyone on here to speculate with any degree of certainty. 

This one is more speculative in nature and not recommended for all however if you know what you're doing and can balance  cashflows, have that high income gig to offset the costs along the way, and have a good team it might still be a lucrative play.Those are some thoughts and examples, hope that helps.