Hey, Curtis. I work for a brokerage firm that helps a lot of investors in the LA area. This is generally what we tell our clients. Los Angeles has a lot of positives for investors: It has a strong metropolitan economy (I think its one of the top 5 cities in terms of GMP), it is a desirable place to live, high prices create a barrier to entry, there is almost always a housing shortage so there is almost always growth in market rents, and appreciation is generally pretty consistent.
The cons are that rent control in LA proper are really difficult, prices are very high, it can be really difficult to cash flow compared to out of state markets, and the cost of living is high, which makes expenses more difficult across the board
Something to consider though is that the LA metro area is HUGE. There are tons of cities and neighborhoods where the numbers can make more sense and you can still hit your goals, but it might take some time to find the deal that fits. We put a lot of our customers in the Long Beach area, because you get a lot of the benefits of LA investing, but prices are more affordable, and rent control laws are not quite as strict. That said, we have other clients that purchase in east LA, or other parts of LA that have strong rents, but are in less desirable areas. You have to be much more careful analyzing your deals, because of the difficulty to cashflow, but there are deals that work.
As far as investing during COVID, we are salespeople and brokers, so there might be some bias, but our take on investing during COVID is that its a fine time to start and buy. We track multifamily market data, and there has not been a huge increase in inventory, foreclosure rates haven't spiked (this might be something to keep an eye on), and most of the other metrics ( $/sf, $/unit, etc) are still on a relatively stable trend, suggesting confidence in the market.
We also work closely with a few local property managers, and the collections rates have dropped, but are still in the low to mid 90's, suggesting tenants still want to pay their rent if they can. This coupled with low interest rates gives investors a great opportunity to get stared. Even if there is some initial instability in the market, if or when inflation takes off, (average inflation is about 2%) if you are borrowing at about 3% you might essentially be using free money to grow your net worth.
Something else to consider is that a lot of property investors are institutional investors, so if there is a market crash and prices are "great" your investment dollars are now competing with tons of investors that have years of data and have cash on the sidelines waiting to be deployed, and can react much faster and clearer than a new investor just starting out.
(PS. I would be more than happy to share our market data with you if you are interested, just PM me)
