You do although the real upside would have been to buy around 2010 when it was still considered "ghetto". When I lived in Santa Ana, I bought a 4plex and lived in one. The city is getting way more gentrified now and I'm making a killing off the rentals.

Santa Ana has the potential for high property values but I don't expect it to outpace the rest of the county. Ladera ranch and RSM are newer homes, and Garden Grove and Fullerton are just as cheap. And all this assumes that you have a job in the area and that's why you pick Santa Ana, for the convenience. More and more jobs (like mine) are becoming tele-commutes. If the wife had let me, I'd have moved to Corona and bought myself a large house on a few acres.