My problem is simple, the houses I want to flip are too expensive, and sellers are stubborn with their asking prices (at least the few I've seen).

I have however met plenty who bought into a local bottom thinking it was a global bottom and proclaiming that "this time it is different", only to watch most of their gains evaporate as the stubbornly held while the market showed them that this time it was no different and that the underlying fundamentals that drove the market over the past decades had not really changed much.

I kept being lazy for the first 6-12 months until my back was against the wall and finally decided to grow up and do what I needed to do to build the future that I wanted.I've started 4 businesses (the same business 4 times bc I was stubborn and stupid enough to keep at it) and own a few rental properties.

You can absolutely be defiant, and stubborn and keep "hunting down" your deals.

Also, if you're finding those sellers to be too stubborn, Jacksonville and Tampa are also both great markets in Florida.

I stubbornly ignored the naysayers and just tried to learn.After about a year I had a stroke of luck and snagged a nice 10 property (500 unit) Project-Based Section 8 (HAP) portfolio listing from one of the brokers with the firm. 

We really like the land so I'm trying to come up with a compromise but the seller is a stubborn older gentleman.

Use it to grow, or be stubborn, I honestly don't care.

I also agree it usually makes sense to invest in markets with limited land, however, these markets provide no or negative cashflow, have horrible tenancy laws,  and have become so speculative, expensive/unaffordable that I find them to be much more at risk of a severe correction.Now, I also see some potential for things to go bad over the medium/long term in Calgary if Alberta tries to resist the move to sustainable/renewable energy through political stubbornness.

I was very stubborn with my 1% rule so like all the professionals say, 'go far away and invest'.