<prompt> Human: For reference, we live in Seattle. I know we cannot time the market and its always a mistake to try to do so but our reason is not that or not mainly that. We are a married couple, 26 yo, no kids, no pets, currently renting an apartment in Bellevue. Weve been living in this place for 2 years and we like it but our goal is to have our own home. Prices are crazy high here, and I mean you cant buy anything without at least 400k. So we decided to continue to rent until 1 we have the 20 down and 2 we have higher income to qualify for the mortgage. Please take a look at our situation and give some insight into whether it is smart, financially, to continue renting until we are able to purchase the house we want or if we should just buy a cheaper house, sell it in 3-4 years and buy what we want. Income: combined we make 285k pre-taxDebt: zero. We didnt have any student loans, no credit card debt, no car loans.Current rent: 4,200, includes water, trash, sewage, parking. Potential mortgage: we want a home in the range of 1.2 - 1.4M. With a down payment of 20, the monthly payments with tax and insurance would be around 6,500-7,000. Utilities will be more expensive, plus other house related monthly costs. Cash on hand at the moment: 250k. What do you think? While renting is cheaper, it is also money thrown out the window. We are not building equity. Our income will grow by 7-10 in the next years. We are child free, wont have any. Should we keep renting for another year or 2, or purchase a house now for around 700k?  <response>: Renting is not money thrown out the window. Building equity is BS. If you have a bedroom available for your first child you can rent for a long time. If not, you can put off buying or moving to a larger rental at least until that child is 2 years old. Lets say that happens when youre 30. You have 4 years left to rent. You can start acting right now like you have a 6,500 mortgage. Start saving 2,300mo tomorrow. In 4 years youll have another 120k for a down payment. Thats another 10 down. If you struggle to save that 2,300, that will tell you that youre not ready for a 1.4M house before you make a huge mistake.Buying a cheap house now and selling it in 4 years will cost you 40k in transaction costs. Do you think youll build 40k in equity on a 500k house in 4 years?Once you have that kid your 1 priority will be the school system you live in. That will strongly influence where you choose to live and how much it costs. Do your research, wait for that time, but be prepared to jump on an opportunity. 