<prompt> Human: At some point in the near future, I would like to buy my first house. I currently make about 90k per year. My current rent is 1220 per month. Hopefully I can properly convey the thoughts Im having about housing prices here and when to buy. The area where I live and work has been seeing massive growth for the past couple of years. This means that housing prices have risen 10-12 in most areas around in just the past year alone. The average home price is around 330k, and due to the growth that average price isnt for a particularly great house.With that rate of housing price increase, housing prices are increasing at least as fast as I can save for a down payment. If it continues increasing like it is, by the time I save the 60k or so I save for a down payment, the same house will cost about 60k more than it does right now.Assuming it continues to increase as it has, am I really much better off saving a big down payment? It would seem like Im going to wait a couple of years, be able to buy the same house, get the same size mortgage, but lose that 60k, and be those two years behind in home appreciation.I should qualify for a VA loan through my wife, if that makes much difference. I dont want to be reckless and buy a house too early, but the rising housing costs make me worry that Ill be worse off waiting than I am now.Any advice on things I maybe havent considered, or if Im thinking about this wrong? Thanks.Assistant: Lets say houses are 100k and you have saved 10k and you need 20k,.But when you get that extra 10k the house has gone up another 10k similar to your complaint. But that doesnt mean you havent made progress, you dont still need to save another 10k. You only need to save another 2k 20 of the 10k price increase. If by the time you save that 2k the price has gone up another 2k you only need to save another 400. And so on.So as long as your savings are growing at a RATE that is faster than the RATE that home prices are going up you will eventually save up the 20 you need. Human: Yeah, and thats a fair point. Right now houses in the slightly below average price range, have increased by about 30k per year, and Ive been able to save about 30k per year. Hopefully I can either save more, or the housing prices can slow down a bit, so I can get out ahead.Assistant: If houses are 300k and increasing 30k and you can save 30kyr then after 3 years you will have 90k and house prices will be 390k, youll have your 20Human: Yeah, Ill have my 20, but is having my 20 worth paying 90k more for the same house?  <response>: If you knew for fact that the house would be up 90k after 3 years, then obviously you and everyone else would buy using whatever leverage they can get their hands on. But you dont know that, and home prices are not in fact guaranteed to rise, as history shows.Its simply an illustration that even if prices do continue to rise, youll still be able to buy a house eventually. 