Full disclosure, I have not purchased in San Diego since Dec 2021 (shortly before rates rose).  

I goal is to find a market that has good appreciation rate with good to decent cashflow but out of the two appreciation matters more to me.

What is your rate, term, LTV, and rent?  

Also, these deals tend to have very thin margins because the brokers will soak up a lot of the up front pricing while also pressuring you to get skinny on the rate.

I’m thinking with a 2.25% rate, that’s a good mortgage to hang on to if it performs well as a rental.

Trump doesn't control them, but he's going to try everything he can to bring mortgage rates down.

Maybe you planned for interest rates to drop and they didn’t.

I was talking to a RE friend.He said it's a bad time to buy* rates are high* homes are expensive in most marketsLooking to hear some counterpoints. 

The rating systems for short-term rentals has lost all validity.

As noted, commission are always negotiable as are brokerage options (full service to discount companies that pretty much just post it on the MLS and you work with all calls, offers, etc) and an agent can go over likely net out scenarios with you and give you an idea what you likely will be able to net after closing expenses and paying off the mortgage balance.