The reason I like the southeast is that I feel there's population growth in that region and long-term trends of people moving there, not because it's where I live or prefer to be personally although there are parts of the southeast I do certainly love and enjoy.You don't need an operating loss to get tax benefits with depreciation and mortgage interest writeoffs, I'm not sure why someone would ever take on an operating loss for tax benefits, that makes no sense.

Researching local laws, taxes, and economic trends is crucial.

Current rent growth trends reveal variations across major cities:>San Francisco saw moderate growth at 4%, still below its pre-pandemic highs.

Perhaps not a trend to consider across the city but any neighborhood that would attract college educated young professional families seems to be a good bet if you wanted to focus on this asset type.I plan to build 12 townhomes as a second phase of a condo/townhome project in a good area of Mount Airy near the Chestnut Hill boarder and even though I’m likely to years away from being ready to begin phase 2, my current plans are to keep the 12 homes as rentals for the precise reasons I outlined above.  

Post regularly to update us on market trends, deals you're analyzing, and any opportunities you think would benefit investors.

Be aware of the current market trends in your area, which can influence selling times and prices.

Redfin and Zillow does provide an approximate rents in the neighborhood but doesn't provide a trend (or i may not be looking at the right place) and since I am new to the Schenectady market, I would like to know if it is going to be an upward trend or is it declining.

Despite current unemployment rates maintaining below 5%, the recent rise from 3.8% to 4.2%(recently revised to 4.1%) is significant, especially when considering wage growth adjusted for inflation.Over the last few years, the median household income has dropped by 7.2% when adjusted for inflation (and this isn't even considering volatile food and energy prices), a troubling trend given that inflation has outstripped income growth.

I think long term future trends will continue to support affordable real estate markets. 

It's a small sample size so far but may serve as insight for near future demand trend.