And that rent control may be a factor in the near future. 

With the exception of skiing.Places like SF and NYC definitely win when factoring in motivated/interesting people per capita though :P  I tried really hard to not like it, but my 5 years here have been a blast, both personally and professionally.

Nina is passionate about real estate as one of the best investments over time and feels very fortunate to be living and working in this city of a culturally diverse population, unique architectural beauty, breathtaking historical buildings and museums, and astounding lifestyles. 

Taxes will play such a small role in your two different scenarios that they should be a minor factor to consider.When asking about taxes, better questions would be:1) What asset class yields the best tax advantages?

From there, you can determine what components are priority, and how much of a factor location will/should play into that.

My interest stems from different factors; I'll try to expound, and I apologize that it may be a bit verbose (this is where you can be happy to NOT be in my head ;-). 

When you run your numbers, make sure to factor broken windshields on your ball collection tractors.

Like you said, mortgage rates are between 3.5-4.75% for residential loans on 30 year mortgages, when you then factor in an expected average inflation rate of about 2% and the fact that you can deduct interest that's practically free money.

The only problem with an app is that construction cost vary so much based on different factors.

I suspect that other factors in your financial profile will play into the answer.