My biggest concern is how that area will fare during the next economic downturn.

Also, run the numbers as if it was rented annually instead of monthly, in case of an economic downturn hopefully you can get a long-term tenant in at a much lower rate and still break even.

I work with buyers, sellers and investors of residential real estate in Orange County.I have a Master's Degree in Economics, but more then anything I have the support and power of Keller Williams Realty with the most innovative technology and marketing in the real estate industry and the love in my heart for people and homes.

Economically, both will cost you. :)

The down cycles when the entire country is going through financial crisis, hands down, have been the most profitable for me as an investor. 

Also, some people argue that in bad economic times, condos are the first type of housing to lose value.

And if you consider the history(20 to 50 yrs or so) of census stats and the economic factors of places like palm springs, beaumont(my home town), victorville, or riverside before they had a huge housing demand you'll safely place your money is towns like DHS or barstow now and be rewarded in just a few years.

Needless to say a lot of the money that came in was from U.S. and a lot of international buyers and many were hurt due to the 2008 crisis - like a lot of product and investors were impacted.  

@Michael Jacobson narrow down your search, and study the demographics, and economic outlook for each area.

Choose cities in safe and economically diversified areas with above-average income and population growth.