This passive approach allows for the greatest diversification as you're investing across different states and in the fastest growing markets.

I am exploring the route of tax liens and deed auctions (or over the counter) as a possible investment route for diversification in REI.

It also adds diversification to your portfolio.

This is called a strategy of diversification. 

If you have more, you can get more diversification by investing in multiple funds.If I were a nonaccredited investor just starting out and only enough for one fund, I would put it in Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT).

I have the money to buy a 20-80 unit myself without having to syndicate but I always wind up going the syndicate route because frankly the bigger the property, the easier it is the manage from a leasing agent/maintenance staff perspective and also of course diversification perspective. 

I guess one could stay in cash and hope for a downtown, might happen, might not.I believe strongly in diversification.

@Paul Sandhu makes a good point about diversification away from tourism. 

One of the advantages of investing in International real estate is precisely to have currency diversification, meaning not having all your assets in the same currency or all your eggs in the same basket.

In part, this was attractive to me because of tax efficiency and diversification (roughly half my equity would be split into DSTs and this mortgage paper).