<prompt> Human: Were a 28yo married couple with 150-155k household income; basically nothing special for our area- hopefully this will be 200-210k within the next 5-7 years. At the moment were trying to figure out how to balance retirement saving, which we are behind on, with the unique demands of buying real estate here. I know that some people will think we should just rent, but we have strong family ties to the area.Currently putting away 7 4 employer match in 401k, plus maxing out both our Roth IRAs- so basically saving a total of 15 of gross for retirement. After medical retirement contributions we have chronic med issues so costs are high and living costs we are able to save 2000 a month in cash living fairly frugally.We only have around 20k in our Roth IRAs, I have another 10k in a IRA, as we were slow to start saving for retirement. Also 55k in some mutual funds as general investments, but we dont have much liquid cash saved for a down payment- just the usual 3-mo emergency fund. Luckily, our parents have offered to chip in 200k towards the down payment when we feel ready to buy. We have no debt.My question is, do I need to cut back on retirement saving to save more aggressively for a house down payment given the crazy real estate costs here? Its a tough one because we got a slow start saving for retirement in the first place and are considerably behind. With the average reasonable 2bd1ba house being 800k here, it feels totally daunting. I dont want to have a huge mortgage and be house-poor, but it appears the alternative would be to not buy a house at all or sink all my eventual cash into a 50 down payment. Am I being unrealistic with my aspirations for home ownership, in combination with saving for retirement?Insights are much appreciated- thank you!  <response>: Youve correctly identified your three options:1. House-poor2. Not buy at all, I presume3. Buy with a large down payment.If you plan to be in the Bay Area for at least a decade, then the best plan of action would be 3, then 1, then 2.If you dont plan on buying there for a decade, then its best to just not buy.You also seem to be restricting yourself to a small area. There are plenty of places outside the actual Bay, but still in the Area primarily north and east where the CoL is cheaper. Living in such a desirable location comes at a huge price, and youre going to have to make some sacrifices to live there. 