If you aren't looking for luxury then you can find some good multis in the city (in good areas) that will let you live for free or super cheap. 

VCT is so thin, you could probably lay down some luxury vinyl tile right over the top of it as long as the VCT is cleaned of any dirt, grime or wax and is secured.

Luxury apartments or properties worth more than the average person can pay for it tend to go down in value more than a non-luxury market rate property.

Whatever it will build, it will attract luxury builders and the high earners, and then will show up restaurants, boutique, etc, the money will pour in the neighborhood. 

In the wholesaler situation, they don't have that luxury and simply lose the deal.

Govt financing, conservative underwriting and management execution properly combined; make multifamily (in my opinion exclusively workforce housing vs luxury, student, low income, etc) the BEST risk adjusted return of all real estate asset classes.

Personally- If I had to do over again I would have done my own house in Lifeproof Luxury Vinyl Floor Planks...

Lots of discussion regarding product design trends in residential, retail, and office developments and amenities driving tenants to new luxury apartment homes in the metro areas of NJ, NY, PA. 

I know some of the people building those giant buildings downtown, and while I am not happy with the style of the buildings the city allowed them to build (I am extremely conservative when it comes to architecture styles, and would prefer they were 100% faced in brick and not these weird mishmash things everyone builds now a days), or what I perceive as a lack of parking and over reliance on a luxury market, they are going to do quite well for themselves, so on that front it is hard to argue.

They make or break your investment and are a necessity, not a luxury, especially for those of us out of state.