Not so much if you are trying to buy a house).In addition, inflation is typically measured using the consumer price index, of which housing only makes up about 23%, so it's not a 1:1 correlation - an increase in the price of bread, or milk, or gasoline, or clothing, or movie tickets directly effects the CPI.

It's very time consuming managing even 2 houses at once.

After a few years, move out and buy another one.Short term rentals are a lot of work, flipping is really risky and more time consuming.

Can the government as consumer of last resort sufficiently sustain aggregate demand through the Covid shutdowns and beyond until the "normal" economy resumes, is the question. 

All these features are time consuming and have they really perfected their craft?

One reason people opt to seller finance or rent to own is if they are having trouble selling their property.

I charge a little extra to offset consumables.

I've been consuming everything about RE I can get my hands on.

@Dustin SandersAll things being equal, I’d opt for the 2 homes for 150k.

Most investors tent to opt for a 30yr loan (lower payments) for more cash flow.