That declaration speaks VOLUMES.     

I don't see that on the west coast though simply because we don't have the volume of sales and as you probably have witnessed there is simply a ton of freaking money here and competition is fierce.

If you keep doing what you do, it is harder to make the same volume or return levels. 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ben-caballero-becomes-the-worlds-first-2-billion-real-estate-agent-300793822.htmlBen Caballero Becomes the World's First $2-Billion Real Estate AgentTop-Ranked Realtor® 2018 Sales Totaled Nearly 5,800 Homes for a Volume of $2.27 BillionHomesUSA.comFeb 12, 2019, 09:00 ETDALLAS, Feb. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ben Caballero, the first Guinness World Record holder for home sales, broke his world record for an individual real estate agent, selling 5,793 homes totaling $2,270,911,643 in a single year.

But I’m waiting… There’s nothing to gain right now and a lot to lose. ( other than heartburn hoping that appreciation makes a straight up GAMBLE look like an investment)But ..OK….”IF”….

Once you start accumulating a good amount of real estate, apps like mint or monarch can't handle the sheer volume of mortgages, credit cards, banks etc.

I can't imagine trying to turn it into a full time business unless it is the way that @Don Konipol described it (i.e. volume, lots of staff, good processes to identify and claim funds, etc.).  

new builds are great, build with a parternship and someone doing volume in your markets of interest. we do it in columbus oh and miami fl 

And if one day you have the volume you are happy with and still don't want to be taxed on income generated, then you are free to put all that extra cash into RE holdings. 

If you had enough volume in Michigan it might be worth bringing some of these trades up.