If none of this sounds appealing to you, consider investing in a real estate investment trust (REIT). These are companies that purchase office buildings, hotels, and other properties and distribute their rental income as dividends. For example, Vanguard has a diversified REIT ETF with a minuscule expense ratio and a healthy 4% yield: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundIntExt=I...
It only represents a very small part of my portfolio, and I've been DRIPing it for a while. If you were thinking of buying in before the large dividends (quarterly), don't bother because the price will change on the ex-dividend date to reflect the dividend being recorded. Also, the rebalancing is monthly.
Real estate looks as if it is way over-priced at this point. If you don't want the tax benefits of owning a rental, why not index fund your money, then you would be almost double the 4% long-term, either way.
I agree a lot of hot metros are looking expensive (SF, Seattle).
Things are cheaper in places farther from growth and money, e.g. rural Indiana. I'm not sure whether they're better deals on balance, but quite different.
REIT investors aren't the cause of high rents. Actually the opposite. Every dollar they put in lowers the cost of capital for property developers and encourages the construction of new housing units.
Real estate value (as represented by REITs) has been going up despite increases in the Fed Funds rate. This implies a discount-to-book value. I think we still have a bit to go.
