Market downturns: Effect on rental cash flow?

[Ted Kawabata]

Hey BP, We all know that a downturn can put people under water (and unable to sell), and can really disrupt the activity of house flippers, etc. But for buy-and-hold investors... if you have positive cash flow at a rate that you're happy with, is there anything truly stressful that comes with a down market? I understand that certain cities, in an economic downturn, may stop attracting people for jobs and therefore see a shrinkage in rental demand/prices. But if a city is hit "normally" by an economic downturn, and not abnormally hard, would rental demand/prices generally stay the same? Thanks for the advice. Would especially love advice from "old timers" who have seen down cycles previous to our last one in 2008-2010. Thanks! Ted