It’s been tough to sell a home lately—which is why “accidental landlords” are suddenly everywhere.

Zillow found that 2.3% of rental listings were homes that failed to sell, sat on the market for at least two weeks, then were relisted as rentals within three months. That’s a near six-year high—and still rising.

The trend is most pronounced in oversupplied markets like Texas and Florida. Denver is the accidental landlord capital, where 4.9% of rentals were home sale dropouts.

“Most ‘investors’ in our market [now] are just normal folks who need or want to move—and aren’t excited about selling right now,” says Denver property manager Tyler Howell. He’s seen a “huge increase” in owners who “can’t sell,” now making up about half of his incoming leads.

Their hesitation makes sense. Denver home prices are down 9.6% year over year to a median of $565,000, according to Redfin. Nationwide, more than half of homes have lost value since last year.

But today’s sellers have an edge over previous generations: Many have built up so much equity that they don’t need to sell to fund their next move.

“Today’s sellers are rarely forced to sell,” explains Zillow senior economist Kara Ng. “Renting out a property is one way to buy time rather than compete aggressively on price.”

The “mortgage lock-in effect” only adds to the standoff. As Howell puts it: “Our market is saturated with homes owned at sub-3% rates. Would you want to sell now? I wouldn’t.”

But accidental landlording comes with pitfalls.

“The two biggest mistakes I see? Owners try to rent furnished homes or offer short-term leases,” says Howell. “That signals the home will be back on the market soon and scares off serious renters.”

And even if renting is intended as a temporary stopgap, many property owners end up appreciating the regular cash flow from a rental.

“Clients often say they’ll rent for a year or two then sell, but only about 15% actually do,” Howell says. “With this wave, it may be closer to 25% to 33%—still far less than intended.”

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Waterfalls are rarely for sale. So when the 92-foot Abiqua Falls in Oregon recently made a splash on Redfin—with no asking price attached—it unleashed a cascade of questions. For answers, we spoke to Amanda Staggenborg, communications director of Mount Angel Abbey (a Benedictine monastery and seminary in the Willamette Valley), which has owned the 40-acre property for over a century. Here’s why the time was right to sell, who bought it, and more.

Q: What’s the story of this waterfall? “Mount Angel Abbey acquired the property in 1908. The interesting thing is that it’s been maintained exactly the way it was when we acquired it, with the exception of hikers putting up ropes and carving out their own trails. We’ve left it up to God’s creation, and we’re very proud of that.”

Q: What’s the hike like to get there? “It is very much a hike for an experienced hiker. You drive on a dirt path for a couple of miles as far as you can, then people leave their car and walk for around four miles. There are a lot of twists and turns. That said, once you get there, it is absolutely lovely.”

Q: Why did the abbey decide to sell? “With the advent of GPS and different technologies that help people discover it, there’s been more public interest. The reason we put it up for public auction on Redfin—with no minimum or maximum bid—was to identify who would be best for stewarding this land. We wanted to open it to everyone. It’s an unusual sale. We knew what the land was worth, but how do you appraise a waterfall? That was a really interesting question.”

Q: What kind of response did the listing get? “We were blessed to have a lot of interest and offers, including one by the state for $600,000. We accepted their offer and are waiting for that process to play out.”

Q: Sorry to ask, but doesn’t $600,000 seem a little low for something this beautiful? “The priority was never to fetch top dollar. It was to ensure that the right steward of the land came into view who could keep that land open and allow the same kind of recreational access in the way that the Benedictine monks have for the past 100 years.”

Click here for more photos of this epic waterfall, or scroll down to learn how you can purchase and preserve one of your own.

This week, we head to the Emerald City and hear from Tom Hume, an investor and real estate agent.

Average home price: $848,869 (down 2.2% YoY)
Homes that sell over list price: 18.7%
Homes that sell under list price: 55.9%
Average rent: $2,187/month

Pros: Between Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle’s tech boom has pushed home prices sky-high. But nearby suburbs, like Tacoma, still offer relative bargains. “The median price in Tacoma is 5.7 times median income—above the national figure of 5x, but below Seattle’s 7.48x,” says Hume, who recently bought a house here for $346,000, spent $15,000 on renovations, and now rents it for $2,185.

The cons: Tacoma’s landlord rules are tough, and getting tougher. “The city has instituted tough regulations in recent years,” Hume says. Rent increases require a 180-day notice, hikes of 5% or more may require landlords to cover moving costs, and tenants with kids can’t be evicted during the school year. The result? “Many landlords have left the market,” he says—potentially reducing supply and driving rents higher.

His advice: “Familiarize yourself with Tacoma’s Rental Housing Code and Landlord Fairness Initiative, a local layer of laws to be aware of,” Hume says. Also, keep an eye out for ways to take advantage of new laws, such as the Home In Tacoma project, which encourages affordable developments like DADUs (detached accessory dwelling units).

This is why Hume’s latest purchase had a large backyard and alley access, which would allow a second rental to be built out back. “I plan to build DADUs on at least one of our rental properties,” he says. “It’s like getting a free piece of land.”