<prompt> Human: If Im never planning on getting married and having 2 incomes, will I ever be able to afford a house? In my area a halfway decent house costs 550-600k, townhouses are like 500ish and condos are 300k but I dont really want to invest in a townhouse, and definitely not a condo. Seems like I would have to make in the high 100k range just to afford a starter home that has a yard. People in my field and location dont make high 100s unless theyre really senior andor high performing Im an engineer. Is it simply impossible as a single person to compete against all the dual income married couples in the housing market unless youre making mega bucks?  <response>: Depends on the particular housing market youre in, unfortunately. I was able to easily afford to buy a house on a single 52k salary, but at the time the average 1000 sqft house in my area was going for less than 100k. Meanwhile, a friend of mine makes double what I do but lives in the Silicon Valley area and can barely afford an apartment without roommates. 