@Elijah Brown having wages rise more rapidly and in line with the cost of living would help as well

This assumes that you are flexible and don’t mind moving a lot but as you move into new buildings you can keep using low down payment loans and house hacking and rapidly build up your portfolio of buildings.

Additionally, the economic base in Columbus is going growing rapidly with businesses such as Intel, Google, and Wells Fargo bringing jobs here.

Appreciation has slowed given how rapid everything went up over the past 3 years.I think Birmingham may be your best option for what you're looking for if you want to invest in Alabama, but I do not have any investments there, so I can't be of much help there.  

I personally own properties in Metro Detroit, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids.  

Lucie, FL25.7%Jacksonville, FL25.3%New Orleans, LA25.3%Palm Bay, FL24.9%Orlando, FL24.5%Phoenix, AZ24.5%Crestview, FL23.5%Deltona, FL23.1%Tampa, FL23.0%Houston, TX22.9%Salt Lake City, UT22.4%Baton Rouge, LA22.2%West Palm Beach, FL22.1%Atlanta, GA22.0%Fort Lauderdale, FL22.0%Pensacola, FL21.9%Miami, FL21.5%Boise, ID21.5%Tucson, AZ21.1%North Port, FL20.9%Riverside, CA20.9%San Antonio, TX20.3%Oklahoma City, OK20.2%Dallas, TX19.9%Sacramento, CA19.8%San Diego, CA19.5%Fort Worth, TX18.9%Gary, IN18.8%Memphis, TN18.3%Anaheim, CA18.3%Tulsa, OK18.1%Tacoma, WA18.0%Denver, CO18.0%Albuquerque, NM17.9%Austin, TX17.9%Little Rock, AR17.8%Los Angeles, CA17.7%Myrtle Beach, SC17.4%Cleveland, OH17.3%Louisville, KY17.2%Chattanooga, TN16.8%Fayetteville, AR16.7%Knoxville, TN16.7%Chicago, IL16.7%Birmingham, AL16.6%Portland, OR16.6%Detroit, MI16.6%Nashville, TN16.3%Elgin, IL16.3%Dayton, OH16.0%Lake County, IL15.7%Albany, NY15.3%Virginia Beach, VA14.9%Pittsburgh, PA14.8%New Haven, CT14.8%Camden, NJ14.7%Akron, OH14.5%Grand Rapids, MI14.2%Charleston, SC14.1%Indianapolis, IN13.8%Columbus, OH13.6%Greenville, SC13.4%Bridgeport, CT13.3%Des Moines, IA13.0%Warren, MI12.7%Hartford, CT12.5%Winston-Salem, NC12.5%Cincinnati, OH12.3%St.

With that mind, in combo with rapidly rising rates and a down stock market, is a 7% drop from super high prices even surprising? 

@Mark Fein so I scanned this thread after your comment and literally not one of the answers--pro or not--advocated for any kind of fraud.

You have to go back on this chart to 2019 to see a typical year, since 2020 was influenced by COVID, 2021 was an unusual banner year and 2022 was influenced by rapidly rising interest rates.

Some of them have no equity or are underwater but have interest rates that put their payments below the currently exploding rent rates.At the same time rapidly rising interest rates on new mortgages along with tightening lending policies is making it nearly impossible for many buyers to qualify.The federal government has also announced a rent to own program which isn't large enough to make much of a dent in demand for alternative financing.