Wondering if the vacancy rate is higher in the area as it seems more advantageous to just buy a house and pay mortgages rather than renting.

Being new to this process, it seems a regular referral form won't work.

5K rent seems cheap for the area so I would continue with that.

The are 3 bedroomsAssuming these are in Charlotte, the rents seem very low for 3BR units.

It seems to be the norm in this field anymore.

However, though I don't know the actual numbers it seems like the home would offer so many more amenities I would enjoy as well.

The low income versus high cost of living is referred to locally as the sunshine tax. https://www.businessinsider.com/most-expensive-places-to-liv...https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sandiegocitycal...It is my view that the incomes cannot sustain the high cost of housing in San Diego but it has seemed this way to me for four decades and yet the RE prices keep increasing.  

The easiest and straight forward option would be, as you said, to sell the current residence, payoff the HELOC (or most of it) and then get back to saving with your jobs and the rental cashflow.

Hey @Shuvrajit Mukherjee - First off, I am not a developer, but just wanted to ask some clarifying questions to better understand what data you are searching for.It seems you want data from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) not NAR?   

Seems like a lot of folks prefer SFH, but I bought a Townhouse because it seems like it is easier to maintain (HOA covers external, landscaping, and neighborhood amenities).