No its not.
You cannot find a house to buy in socal, especially SD, for under half a mil. That's a $3500 mortgage with tax/ins/etc. And its a ****ing shanty you'll be buying at that price.
I rent for $1k for a 650sf 1br. I can get a 2br luxury apt down the street for $2000 if/when we decide to upgrade. Still not a mortgage. You have to rent at some high end places to equal the cost of a mortgage payment.
Maybe if you were lucky enough to buy in the 80's/90's or 2008-2010 you are looking good mortgage wise. Everyone else, its like standing at the base of Everest and looking at the peak going "Who's climbing that? **** that"
that seems strange to me. In league city,tx (aka where whites go to breed) you can buy a nice "normal" house for 200-300k no problem, but you have a hell of a time renting a 1 bedroom apartment around here from less then 1k/month unless its a real shit hole.
i would figure with how you're always talking about there being nothing in socal for less then half a million then the apartment rates would somewhat match.