We have to accept a biased opinion of value in order to base all other factors.  

The space seems crowded and the common factor is pretty high account fees.  

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.

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.