Real estate investing is still speculation. 

How much the fee is not really the point but rather its a 45% increase the problem is simple becoz insurance company is almost on default on insuring us.In the last two years their cost to insure us is reaching two standard deviation.think the insurance company as speculator, if they think the max damage in one area is 100 mil but in reality it's 300 mil , they lost money and they stopped producing new client.

Are you an investor or a speculator?

Determining whether someone poses such a direct threat must be made on an individualized basis, however, and cannot be based on general assumptions or speculation about the nature of a disability.

Just speculation...

Specifically in those satellite markets; now this is not true for every circumstance- but by an large you don't want to speculate a quick buck in a market that in the future will be obsolete.

Bottom line: NOBODY knows what rates will do in the future.It's fun to discuss, and we can make educated guesses, but ultimately, it's just speculation...

It is also affected by speculation, where people buy properties assuming prices will keep going up.

Maybe not to that extent, and yes, every geographic region is different, but assets today are generally overinflated including RE values and the effect of interest rate hikes on demand is going to take several months/quarters to see it's impact before we start seeing less speculative property types begin to stabilize/decline in value.As to the question about why I didn't buy in 2018.

That's the trick, it's all speculation, need to consult with local realtor.