It might be but you need to appreciate at least 15% over the time you buy it to beat closing costs and (likely in these markets) home prep costs/staging. If you

It might be but you need to appreciate at least 15% over the time you buy it to beat closing costs and (likely in these markets) home prep costs/staging. If you know you’re going to be there 5 years it’s probably a safe bet, but the value appreciation in California has slowed quite a bit (or dropped, in the case of the bay area) so it’s not as safe as a bet as it was, especially considering rental prices are down and there’s probably a 10-30% premium to own.