I used to live in the lower mainland but invested where the numbers work like Vancouver Island or Northern BC.

You want lower land cost with high rental demand unless you're a reno expert and flipper which not 1% of real investors are. 

Prices are far lower there “relatively” speaking due to low demand.  

It’s flexible—you can invest in rentals, commercial properties, or syndications—but managing it requires careful attention to avoid prohibited transactions.In comparison, a SEP IRA offers tax-deferred growth, which might be better if you expect a lower tax rate in retirement, but it doesn’t avoid UDFI tax on leveraged properties or allow borrowing.Before investing, check if SDIRA Wealth aligns with your goals and review their track record.

i'm in Pittsburgh, lower price point than Boston, trying to do my next BRRRR, and I keep getting outbid. 

So when I get multiple bids and one is significantly lower, I don't think of them as a deal.

In particular, the ability to auto-sync and categorize bank transactions (similar to Stessa), easily track expenses against budgets, and streamline lease creation with lease templates is quite nice.

Let's now discuss taking on new construction for your first time around.The spread between value and cost is quite healthy, but are there transactions recently supporting this price?

We have made money buying properety based on cash flow (lower priced) rented out for a period, then selling to an owner occupant. 

This is lower than usual though.Not complaining, just find it interesting.