In my market, which is a fairly economical place to build, I am friends with full time builders that are in their properties about $150k/door for construction level finishes.  

Some times in between there in rougher economic conditions it was getting unexpected vacancies. 

You need an income that meets three requirements:Rents increase faster than inflation to offset constantly rising prices.It must be reliable; it continues even during economic downturns.It must last throughout your lifetime.These are all long-term requirements, so the current interest rates are not the major issue.

I was also a catering server, restaurant server, and bouncer (lol).

.👀 Risk ManagementBoth investments require risk management:Stocks: Company performance, market conditions, economic factorsReal estate: Property maintenance, tenant quality, local market changesBut guess what?

DOM nationwide isn't really terribly useful; in extreme situations we will already know the national economic situation.

The metrics I'm primarily focused on are: rent appreciation rate, property appreciation rate, economic growth rate, unemployment rate on the macro level.

If an investor has the time, knowledge, capital and experience to be an active property investor then there are a number of strategies , that, depending on the economic market can be used to accelerate wealth building.  

This reflects continued demand despite economic headwinds*Pending sales increased 3.1% in the metro and decreased 2.2% in Austin proper.

You get some of the strongest rent demand in the Phoenix area being closer to downtown, and then you position yourself for the upside of the growing North Phoenix economy with TSMC and other economic developments.If you want more info, I can send you the 3-5 most recent properties my clients have purchased in the last month for you to review.