The comps over the last 4 years have seen property in this particular community of 500 condos decrease by about 15% as newer, bigger construction goes up all around.

I tend to only look at this stuff at tax time and promptly forget it in between, but if memory serves, if you make $100k or less, you can use $25k in passive losses to offset active income, with that amount decreasing to zero at $150k. 

You will have to increase rents and decrease expenses somehow and very often this could mean doing some kind of renovation work to add separate metering for certain utilities. 3.  

Watch the mls for price decreases on distressed houses and write offers on them.

Also, I was wondering if it is a good idea to start to investing in real estate now or should I just focus on decreasing my student loan debt?

Most apt investors are looking for a value add opportunity where they make opportunistic purchases , renovate efficiently and add new property mgt expertise to drive increased rents while decreasing expenses.

I would also be interested to see how rental prices react to increasing/decreasing sales prices in the Bay Area.

Though crime rates seem to be decreasing, I'm still a little concerned.

I have noticed a decrease in inventory and an increase in price in my area here in Florida.  

Is there any place you can decrease spending?