Right now they are "high" (compared to 2020) and people "think" they are going lower. 

They get a higher return since they are covering housing cost, have the $250k per spouse primary residence deduction in gains, is a savings account, higher leverage position, lower interest rate possible, will pay more premium for location, etc.House might be overpriced for REITs but not for home owners.  

Off-market deals are key if you go this route, so networking is huge.Out-of-state investing is another option people love, especially in markets like PA (Philly, Scranton) or even down south where prices are lower, and the landlord-tenant laws are more forgiving.

If it is someone you know you can give them a straight return as if its a loan - can provide a lower interest rate to provide upside - it really depends on the lender and what are they concerned with and what is their risk profile. 

Most listings have 2.5-3% allocated to the buyers agent already written into the listing agreement but you could write into the offer something lower, adjust the offer price lower accordingly and then pay your agent directly instead. 

This was my first deal, and house hacking made the most sense because it lowered the threshold for risk in my mind.

Sherman does seem interesting though because of the lower cost and growth potential.  

I'm also considering Halethorpe because it's a good commuter location.Some people really like supporting the city in which case , northeast Baltimore would seem to the best place to buy a single family, in my opinion given the taxes situation and given that none of those areas are walkable I’d rather just be in the county and pay Lower taxes, and it’s not like northeast Baltimore is much that much cheaper than Baltimore county, hathorpe is mixed, arbutus is nice, I hate the housing stock there, would rather be in Catonsville if I was considering western Baltimore county. 

For investors, the current market presents a mixed bag: while short-term rental income may be lower, Miami remains a strong market for long-term growth as affordability attracts more tenants.What’s your take on Miami’s rental market?

Contrary to most business lending, the REI industry has a lot of "non-bank" lenders that provide attractive loans that can lower your cost of capital and improve your profit/cash flow.