[San Francisco] How to value/decide on a primary home purchase

[Brian Shum]

Hi BiggerPockets community!  

First time posting!  Looking for some advice and guidance.  My wife and I live in San Francisco (great city but incredibly expensive).  My wife wants to purchase a home in a SF neighborhood like Miraloma, Portola, etc.  Based on what we have seen, a 2000 sq ft. place would carry a price tag of ~ $1.5M.

Here's where I struggle... what is the best way to decide "yes" or "no" on making this purchase? 

There are a bunch of articles that compare renting vs buying.  There are also books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which say that buying a primary residence home is a foolish purchase because it is a financial liability.  On the flip side, there are websites which claims that SF real estate will always appreciate.

How would you guys make a decision on whether or not to purchase a 2000 sq ft home for $1.5M in SF?  I am a fan of using numbers and quantitative analysis, so any feedback there would be much appreciated!