Meanwhile we have seen inflation year over year and property values have historically always retuned to the long term trend line (which we broke in 2004 and 2005 and went way above - your first sign of a bubble).

Wholesalers/Off Market stuff most the time is inflated numbers.... and the "deal" is more or less what'd it be at market.

After saying all of that, real estate prices here are still very affordable and Pittsburgh is still one of the best cash flowing metros in the country (without the downside risk that hyper inflated markets experience).

Let's not forget about inflation.

Lease option holders generally do take better care of the property, and of course you get a larger down payment and hopefully if you have a 5-7 year balloon, you can sell the house at an inflated price or they move out and you start over. 

Haven't bought a place yet, but I live about 30 mins north of Boston and have been looking to purchase a rental property in Providence because the greater Boston area has become pretty inflated.

Also HOA fees will sometimes increase $20 or $25 a month for no other reason than "inflation" or so they'll say. 

Do you have the means/knowledge/opportunity to put it to work at a much better ROI than the 30 year loan rate of interest, plus tax and inflation?

The only thing I can think of is if the 4 unit property is not in the best condition or some other issue that the broker is placing it with a high risk market which would make sense to have the premium inflated to that amount. 

I don’t know what kind of return you are looking for but I would not recommend going for duplexes in Lubbock at the moment because they are very hot and prices are inflated, as was previously mentioned.