<prompt> Human: Hi, I wanted to get peoples thoughts as to whether it makes sense to purchase a house in the bay area. The market is extremely expensive and I am nervous about: 1 having such a large debt that my ability to save in the future will be limited, 2 that the market is so high right now I will be overpaying and may be stuck in this house for a long time, and 3 the houses that we are looking at are relatively small and we may eventually want to upgrade. It is a dream for my wife and I to own our own place, and we do plan to stay in the bay area long term, however I want to be practical. The houses we are looking at start at 800K which is nearly the floor in this market, and will more likely be around 900K - 1M. There are also HOA fees which may be anywhere from 50 - 400 per month. We take home around 10K combined per month after taxes and 8 401K deductions. Our current monthly living budget is 5K - 6K which includes 2.6K in rent. We have 200K saved up not including 401Ks of around 150K. No debt. We are in our early 30s. Thanks for any insight!  <response>: I honestly dont think it makes sense to buy in the Bay Area. Prices are so high right now they are either A Going to rise forever or B Deflate a bit due to a market shift in the nearlong term. I think option B is more likely.Also, you are living a debt free lifestyle right now with a 200k cushion. That is an AMAZING lifestyle that you will instantly lose. Do you really want to sacrifice that and blow all of that hard earned money on an investment that doesnt have a more solid long term forecast? 