Rachel, thanks for reading and for your question. It is a fair challenge as the housing market has shot up a lot recently. I haven't purchased a house since 2019 for that very reason. However, there are always deals out there, they are just harder to find in booms. Keep in mind that before buying a property, I usually look and and analyze hundreds, and that was in a more normal market. Prices are higher, but so are rents, so you can still make the numbers work. You can always do it with a partner if getting the cash is going to take too long. But, again, you have to be selective and patient to get a good one that works. It hasn't gotten easier, but there is still a lot of room between difficult and impossible.

Also, I don't know what town you live in, but you can look in smaller cities and towns throughout the sun belt (Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Flordia, etc). There are still lots of places to buy starter houses for under $300k. But you need to know the market well. Rootstock can give you some idea of what is out there (I've never used them, so not an endorsement).

If you still can't find something that works for purchasing real estate directly, you can look at platforms like Fundrise, Realty Mogul, CrowdStreet, etc. to invest alongside a sponsor passively, usually in commercial real estate. Again, you have to do your own research, and I'm not endorsing any particular site, just giving you some ideas.

I hope that helps! Let me know what you think once you take a look.