While not exactly the ideal single family home you can purchase for your family/investment, it will put pressure on shelter prices.

All the bids are eye-wateringly high.I'm considering ignoring the professionals and looking into ductless heat pump and diy installation (whereby we'd only hire out pressurized the lines and the refrigerant).I'd love anyones knowledgeable thoughts/guidance/experience on how to navigate this as an investor. 

Is HWT still providing decent pressure and hot water?

No pressure from him and communication was second to none.

The annual audits and brand inspections with the parent company were very intense and there were pressures to meet quotas and standards.  

Short of waving a wand to either create 3 million units from thin air, or eliminate 12-odd-million people over-night, there is no "release" of this pressure. 

Slightly lower rates would probably reset things on a much longer scale and thus less painful overall, but no one has the patience for that; there's going to be way too much pressure to make a move when some of these defaults start to happen in a big way, and since we are probably going to remain a nation of debtors for as long as anyone in here is alive there's no real prospect of growth beyond borrowing. 

You'll be able to gauge things much more effectively after having been there and seeing the ways things work differently from the mainland.  

It also puts alot of pressure on YOU.  

What this means for you is that you want a property that will appeal to both sets and it is my opinion that the Zillow walk score is a good way to gauge how hot the property is regardless of the market.