Appreciation, 50% Rule, 2% Rule, or a Mixture?

[Thea Linkfield]

I'm looking at buy-and-hold properties in Jacksonville Beach trying to determine if certain properties are worth looking into more. I've been reading about the 2% Rule and 50% Rule, both of which seem pretty unattainable in my area. This is mostly because purchase prices are almost exclusively over $200,000; which I realize deflates the 2% Rule, but I'm curious how much the 50% rule is effected by higher purchase price? Multi-family homes seem more investment-friendly in this area due to the 2% rule, or even 1-1.5% rule, being less necessary because most monthly expenses will be less of a percentage of my total costs in a duplex compared to a SFH.

Houses in this area will appreciate, especially since they are near the beach, and Jax Beach neighborhood is random ( Every other street is high-end, every other street is a bit run-down ), but over-all improving. If I'm looking for a long term buy-and-hold (+/-10 yrs) at the beaches, is the appreciation value more important than the 2%/50% rule? Is 1% too low if appreciation is probable?