There are 4 other key aspects to consider when analyzing deals and they are - tax savings, principal paydown/equity building, appreciation, and inflation hedging. 

Only de facto rent control at 3% which is nuts when real inflation is hovering around 20%.   

My hope is if it will not give lots of cashflow, at least we’ll cover the expenses and it will appreciate as the area will develop, inflation raises etc.

However, the median price per square foot grew by 3.8%, indicating that the inventory of smaller and more affordable homes has grown in share.Homes spent 44 days on the market, which is one day more than last year but eight days shorter than before the COVID-19 pandemic.According to the Realtor.com® May housing data, the market cooled a bit as mortgage rates went up in April and May due to stubborn inflation.

At the same time it's probably best to be buying right now to hedge against inflation?

For one your tenants are paying off the debt not you and for two inflation makes the cost of paying that debt back cheaper over time.That being said, there's a lot of Peace of mind to having a paid off rental.

As interest rates continue to hold steady at an inflated rate, cap rates continue to as well.

Salaries have not kept up with rising prices and inflation for 20 years.

This isn’t just inflated values that could be found using Zillow or something.

It will take into account inflation and such.