<prompt> Human: First time poster here, using a throwaway because my actual account gets pretty personal.Anywho, we make a little over 100K, we have a nice savings account over 20K and we budget pretty well. I have an okay credit score still working on dumb mistakes from when I was younger and my spouse has excellent credit. Homes here are in the 500-700Ks. Am I wrong for thinking we need a 100K down payment? Is that what we need to do- just save forever until we have that kind of money to even think about buying a home? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, were in no debt at all. Thanks for the help!Edit- Were working on going harder with budgeting and putting away at least 10-12K a year directly into savings. Like I mentioned earlier, we live in a pricier area and even while renting an okay apartment, were paying over 13 of our income on rent. Edit- Thank you all for responding. This post definitely made me more aware of what is safe and what isnt. We will continue renting and budgeting - were pretty young still so maybe well be homeowners by our 40s, and thats exciting! Thanks again.  <response>: Save up for 3-5 years while giving your son stability. Then move to a lower COL area and buy. 