Rent or Sell my primary residence

[Jonathan Buehler]

Hello,

I'm new to the investor world and I want to get started on the right foot. I've lived in my 2BR/1.5B town home near the beach for 5 years. I owe 135K and my mortgage is 1100.00 per month. Through some research I've determind that it would rent between 1200-1400. However, the real estate market in my area has really heated up and it's become a sellers market. As I stated above I owe approx 135K and the Zillow value is $181(although I believe it would sell for more based off other recent sales in my area) I believe the area will continue to go up in value so I'M considering renting the property for lower cash flow or break even to realize more gains in the future. My long term goal is to create a passive income that could eventually supplement my primary income. 

Should I sell the current property and use the gains to invest elsewhere (less expensive rentals) or hold on for potentially greater gains down the road?