I had a conversation once with a very smart Dr. who stated that this concept does not exist in all cultures and was/is more prevalent in certain cultures in centuries past.

There is an emerging c class with high quality mid century construction in many midwest cities.

They are not really investors but speculators.Micheal  its totally apples to Oranges  when i got into this game a century ago or it feels like that.. investors did not buy SFR's per se like they do in droves today.. and from my cheap seats.. all the new construction we build not a single property goes to an investor.. price is the price and you get to the price by cost plus profit and profits are generally 10 to 20% of gross sales prices as your cmpeititon backs into it the same way.its only the last 20 or so years were soup de jour is getting rich only rentals and the easiest way to do that is buy low value SFR.. beginners can t start generally with 2 mil apartment complex.. but they can a 75k SFR.. 

Michael P, "Ragged Dick" was the first of a series of books written in the 19th century in the USA by a man named Horatio Alger. 

Brick will last for literally generations, centuries even, without ever having to mess with siding or painting.

They meet tonight in Latham at The Century House (always the 3rd Monday of the month).Best of luck!

If I found the deal of the century and I wanted to use...

So cities like Detroit that have been suffering from population decline, dilapidated housing stock, high crime, high taxes, poor tenant base, cops that won’t go to certain neighborhoods never mind PMs etc.... what’s to stop those areas that have had poor fundamentals for the better part of a century from reverting back to what they were before the recent influx of outside capital?

But I'd be interested in the argument(s) for an impending 20th Century Depression.

All about ease and lifestyle.We just sold several of our properties because the market seemed well timed and we had several old homes that didn't make good rentals (came into all this a bit "accidentally" and never really realized how high in maintenance the old/huge turn of the century homes were and how much I worried about the additional work and costs that would certainly be coming at some point as structures and foundations began to fail.Also meant doing our first 1031 which was hugely insightful (mostly about how we'll never sell/liquidate everything... because its simply not worth it)!