Stable demand, in retiree market - yes, but also in several other segments: professional working remotely, new Americans. 

I'm working on a creative finance deal with a 50/50 subto/seller finance deal.

When looking at discounting properties to find a deal, I tend to lean into what the seller is looking for when I know I'm holding. 

At the beginning, it may be difficult to get a more expensive property that will appreciate well and so your choice is go with the cheaper property and get cash flow until you can sell and upgrade, or wait for a really good deal which you may be waiting for quite a while and its possible that you will have spent so much time waiting that you could have purchased multiple cash flowing properties by the time you get a good appreciation deal that you can qualify for / refinance after the rehab. i know anyone can go out and get seller financing deals, HML, flip to build capital or whatever the case may be I am just saying sometimes those will be harder and could result in less deals overall. 

For property selection, choosing a duplex or triplex in a good neighborhood can provide steady cash flow, while adding an ADU to a single-family home works well in areas with high rental demand like Portland.

Personally I never listen to what the seller states the income is as they are sometimes way off.

There's just not a big demand here for STRs.

You could force the seller to bring it up to code before the sale is complete as one of the contingencies of buying it, let them deal with it.

Luxury rentals, purchases and short term accommodations will be in high demand from Santa Barbara to San Diego and a drastic uptick in inventory for sale can be anticipated in the areas most effected by the fires. 

There is ALWAYS a demand for ocean-side properties in FL, and these are not only retirees.