New housing starts have suffered due to a lack of labor that left at the end of 2009-2010 market downturn.Prices are based on supply and demand, not interest rates.Rising interest rates will increase the cost of ownership, but it won't be able to change the supply problem.Those that can afford it will continue to buy at the maximum of what their wages will afford.

People always go with the first person that brings them a flip and then suffer loses.

I bought them because they were on the cheap and renters don't care as much, but resale will suffer at exit.

The project will be perfect or the designers head will explode...and I'm paying the contractor with her running point on construction admin, so he'll suffer until it's perfect.The point is, if you can apply your complex skillset to a parallel universe, you'll do well. 

(recently discovered late by a befuddled brrrr-r)As long as you are aware of the full acronym BRRSRROP which will include the $4k closing costs and the 6-12 months seasoning, but is still light on the P&S, pain and suffering, that a refi is. 

I had no idea you were suffering.

They are suffering from very low inventory, so probably won't be getting any great deals on price. https://www.wsj.com/articles/scarcity-of-housing-in-rural-america-drives-worker-shortage-1527672602

We in Australia are suffering now from your sub-prime meltdown and it is starting to cause a lot of pain, but from what I read not quite as much as in your country.As property investors we are conflicted aren't we?

Has anyone gone down this track, of suffering the first few years, and then gaining a nice return, and how long do you estimate I'd need to eat ramon noodles for?

Our market in CO still looks like it's dropping so I don't see any reason to jump in it.I'm sometimes a little impetuous, I often suffer from "gottadoadealitis" but as I've gotten older I've learned to slow down a bit and have not regretted it.