The real test will come when the Fed begins to cut rates, as indicated for later this year, making it a challenging market for both parties.”Clare Losey, ABoR’s housing economist, recently said, “From the buyer’s standpoint, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages…The biggest headwind to them are higher mortgage rates and the decline in purchasing power.”Here are the full stats for Austin and the greater metro:Here’s a chart showing the median sales price of a single-family home in the City of Austin for the first half of 2024:The median sales price for a single-family home in June 2024 was up roughly 16% from the beginning of the year.

Hi Michael,I like your thoughts of building a large portfolio because it's very important in sub $100,000 markets like Ohio.A large portfolio = A safe portfolio.Personally, I've always been a big believer in buying with cash.Less is more.Once you gain experience and understanding the true income vs expenses of your portfolio.Then look at using leverage for faster growth.It takes many years to learn a market along with establishing a solid understanding of it's "in's and out's" from a people/team perspective.As investors we should always reverse engineer and protect the bottom line first and foremost before looking toward expansion and growth.My "cash only" mentality has served me well over the years in my businesses and real estate endeavors.Especially when things turned South and they always eventually do.Start slow, start small, buy with cash and build from there.Just my opinion and wishing you much successps.

Intel is a great example, who is building the largest chip manufacturing plant in the US right here, and it will be a $20 billion dollar investment that brings a few new thousand jobs.https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2022/01/21/intel-ohio-building-computer-chip-factories-licking-county-jersey-township/9173472002/ Another example of economic growth is the upcoming Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Inpatient Hospital which is a 1.9million square foot hospital that will bring over 800 new beds and a thousand new jobs. https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/new-osu-hospital-expected-to-transform-health-careHere are a few more recent investments https://www.10tv.com/article/money/business/hydrogen-power-company-hyperion-bringing-700-jobs-to-columbus/530-25907aab-5517-4661-a9f3-d2ed2d5be6b0 https://news.wosu.org/news/2022-02-08/rumpke-to-build-50-million-recycling-facility-in-columbus Check out The Complete Guide to the Columbus, Ohio Real Estate Market which goes through the Columbus, Ohio market in depth and will give you a better scope of where the highest levels of growth are taking place and where to look to invest. 

If you have any questions about your Real Estate journey, Feel free to reach out!!!  

My thought process is make the cash now and invest in real estate later but I’d love to hear anybody else’s insight. 

To really reap the benefits of your ownership of the NY property over the years you'll want to sell and do a 1031 exchange whilch will allow you to reposition your real estate anywhere in the country and into any type of investment real estate --- without having to pay tax on the profit from your sale or the recapture of depreciation. 

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am Mike Mattingly and together with my wife Sharon, are looking at beginning the adventure of real estate investing.

Non-recourse lendershttps://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/2810/50272-list-of-non-recourse-lenders-for-self-directged-ira-and-401kSolo 401khttps://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/2810/21298-solo-401k-advantagesSdira self directed ira https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/2810/blog_posts/28450-real-estate-iraProhibited Transactionshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/2810/44738-prohibited-transactions-for-a-self-directed-solo-401k-or-checkbook-iraDisqualified Personhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/2810/47960-disqualified-person-in-a-self-directed-ira-or-401k

TBD Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?