@David West, The property you're selling would certainly qualify for 1031 treatment. 

Demand in the market can be influenced by job growth & net migration, industry breakdown of the market, new product coming online, landlord/tenant laws, and many other factors.Location - is it in a good or bad part of town?

If you want to focus on the Plumbing business while generating double digit passive returns on your cash, I might even suggest being a Private Lender to a successful Real Estate Professional with a proven track record in the industry!

Did you "follow your dreams" and get a degree in an industry with no careers, or get a degree where you can graduate and make $45-55k right away? 

I am not sure, I love this building and the production industry. .

Please consider joining rhawa.org (rental housing association of washington) or another landlord industry association.   

If you have any spreadsheet templates that you find useful for any aspect of  the rental property industry please share them here!

My industry is very volatile, and so I could feasibly be out of a job for 6 or more months every two years or so. 

What I don't like is a city depending on one or two major industries.

@Derek Hutson I don’t work that way and wouldn’t work with someone who does personally but it’s very common in the real estate industry.