One of the many oddities of real estate investing is that the best time to plunge in is usually just when things are starting to go south - meaning now. While momentum is starting to carry the market down, home prices are still out of range for a lot of would-be buyers, which helps to buoy rents. Further burgeoning the tenant ranks are the thousands of homeowners selling now in the face of rising interest rates. According to the National Association of Realtors, rents nationwide are expected to jump an average of 5 percent by year’s end.

First, inventory is shrinking: Public universities have suffered from continual belt-tightening in recent years, leaving most without money to upgrade or build out dorms and other housing units. Second, demand is skyrocketing: Colleges are starting to see a surge in admissions, especially from so-called echo boomers, the children of baby boomers. For investors, that adds up to remarkably low vacancy rates near campuses. Prime Property owns 21 apartment buildings in five college towns in Florida and the Midwest, and Zaransky says “we are 100 percent occupied” - even during summer months.

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