[inuhj]

"Those are whopping margins, and the reason for this discrepancy is that rental markets have very different dynamics in expensive cities like New York and San Francisco than less expensive cities like Milwaukee. In low-cost cities, landlord profit rates rise steeply alongside neighborhood poverty. But in expensive cities, the reverse is true. In expensive cities, landlords make money through appreciation and gentrification (which is bad enough for the poor). In lower-cost, more economically hard-hit cities, they make it on the backs of the poor."

In expensive cities the underlying real estate appreciates and you make your money on that when you sell. The cash flows are mostly to cover maintenance and property tax but in some hot real estate markets rents won't even cover operating costs. In stagnant areas the property value is either stable or decreasing so you make your money on rent.

Low rent, high appreciation properties are attractive to investors who don't need cash flow. If you need cash flows you have to go the other way. This isn't surprising to anyone.