Whichever one pencils out and in the area you want to deal with. I sold a place near SDSU not because it wasnt cash flowing well, but appreciation was good and it was too far for me to want to drive to self manage. I ended up doing a 1031 exchange To something slightly better in MM.
There are pros and cons to both. Attached properties typically have higher HOA costs and the HOAs can be pesky to deal with. SFH, on the other hand, you would be on the hook for larger repairs (for example roof repairs). SFH generally appreciate better. Depending on clientele smaller condos might be easier to rent out as they generally cost less. If I were to do things over , I would sell my SFH in CarmelV and exchange it into 4-5 condos because the cash flow on those 4-5 condos in MM would be a lot better than a SFH in CarmelV. Plus it’s much easier to rent out $1600-1800/month condos than $4200+4500+/month SFH as the pool of renters is much smaller and a lot more picky. And the ones usually shelling out $4200+/month for rent probably are also the same people only renting for the short term before they buy. At least in CarmelV. CarmelV frankly is a lousy SFH rental market. If it wasn’t for my ideal plan for my kid to inherit the home and live there possibly if they go to school here, I would consider getting rid of it for things that rent better. So yeah, this isn’t the best choice cashflow wise. Homes that rent for $4000+/month probably do better elsewhere in North County.
The problem with MM is the ridiculously low inventory level right now. 19 active properties serving an area with a population of 74,000 and roughly 23k households. and an average PPSF of $430, lol
I have a lot of cash, but there is nothing I want to buy right now. The inventory in the area I want to buy just sucks donkey butt.