It is a arbitrage flipping which was basically recognized in the 1972 in midst of that decade long recession, young couples int the suburbs, to save their own home value from falling victim  to a neighbor foreclosure.  

Gov Job Recession Proof.

That means the dividend yields will go down as well.If you look at rental prices during times of recession, they do not decrease much.If I own $100K in a REIT and my net dividend is 4% per year, I collect $4K per year.If market drops 50%, REIT is now only $50K, Dividend still 4 %, I collect $2K Per year.If I own $100K House, net cash flow is 4 % per year, I collect $ 4K per year.If market drops 50%, my House might lose value, but my net rental income will still be close to $4K per year.Also REIT's, do not allow me to benefit from loan pay down and depreciation which are basically guaranteed returns.

A recession, while bad for landlords in general, at least has the side effect of quelling the activists!  

I accumulated at a rate of 25 per year for the first four or five years, then the poop hit the fan, and had to slow down for the Great Recession (the banks were scared, but I wasn't scared). 

I just found this interesting article on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/two-us-cities-s...Looks like Elmira, NY and Danville, IL are "stuck in recession".

Will it affect me if recession hits?

@Bradley De comarmond I might have a couple people I can send you in Chicago but they might be under 40 and have gone thru the recession in 2008 which is what has made the rockstars they are today!

That is the risk of recession.  

Take a look at historical median home prices during the last recession.