RE is unlikely to produce similar return to that great decade for RE investors.  

One day you’ll tap into the equity and use it to purchase more income producing assets.

When I get to PA taxes, I see the deferred gain in Schedule D of PA-40 which is recognizable and producing a tax liability.

If you're open to out-of-state investing and looking for an inexpensive market that produces strong cash flow, I recommend checking out Cleveland, OH. 

SCENARIO: You quit your W-2, but you have $100,000 in cash and five single-family homes that produce $75,000 in cash flow and have $400,000 in equity. 

On the flip side, the large models did not cost that much more to produce, but the market would pay much more for a 10,000lbs top model. 

Exchange your non income producing property into an income producing property.

Also, come resale time, the duplex would have a proven track record of producing income and has definable value, whereas a single family home is largely dependent on current market conditions and home buyer emotions and buyer pool at that given time

Choose any two of them and see if they produce similar numbers. 

Nevada has relatively high sales and use tax but the gaming industry produce a lot of the revenue as well helping to keep property taxes low.