<prompt> Human: I am 22 years old. I make slightly less than 55k a year. I have about 256k from saving and from inheritance. I put the max amount in a 401k that my employer will match. I also max out the amount I can put in a roth IRA 5500 i believe. I have 0 debt and I have a car that is fully paid off. I have a bachelors degree and job security is good.I currently rent which costs 800 a month. My other expenses are about 200 a month. My parents are currently covering several expenses health and auto insurance, gas and a couple other things and will until I turn 26 mid 2019.I would ultimately like to buy a house or maybe a townhouse. I live in a rather wealthy expensive part of California. Average house prices look to be about 750k, though most of the ones I see in my general area seem to be well into the 800k-900k range. If I move perhaps 10-15 miles away there are house prices for below 600k. I would probably prefer to stay in the same general area, but wouldnt be 100 opposed to moving to a cheaper area.Would it make sense to look into buying a house now or should I investing what I have and buy a house later?  <response>: Your purchasing power is in the 500k ballpark, putting 50 down and assuming no HOA dues or other monthly debt obligations.Your monthly housing expense will more than double, from 800month rent to about 1950 PITI.Folks in your position often get in trouble by asking how large of a loan do I qualify for? thinking they can just add that to their cash on hand for a purchase price. Not so. Keep in mind that property taxes go up with purchase price, regardless of loan amount, and property taxes must be calculated as a monthly expense relative to your income and other debts.You need to figure out for yourself if it makes sense or not, but theres some ballpark numbers for you to chew on.Source: mortgage lender, in CA. 