<prompt> Human: Hey guys. 28 yr old software developer here. Looking for some advice on buying my first home.I currently make 76k, and my fiancee makes close to 40k. She has no debt, but I have 25k left in student loans, and about 9k on a car loan. Both our credit scores are right around 650. I have around 20k in a 401k, and 5k in a HSA. Between the two of us, we have around 20k in savings.Without budgeting much, I save about 1500 a month. I could easily save another 500 if I spent less on foodtoys and weekend trips.Our lease is up at the end of May and we are thinking now would be a good time to start the home buying process. Wed be looking in the 150k-225k range. My only worry is that we dont have 20 down. My dad keeps telling me to buy now instead of save because the local market is going up. His idea is that if we bought a home now, the homes value would increase and wed be glad we bought low. Is there any truth to that? What if we end up saving til the fall and the same 200k home becomes worth 225k?Another thing I should mention is that my fiancees parents want to give us about 5k as a wedding gift which I would rather not accept.What is our best option? I will say that we are both excited about being home owners but Im trying not to let that cloud my judgement.  <response>: You are too late to complete the homebuying process by the end of May. Its 45-60 days from the time you have an offer accepted. Add onto that the time to find the right house that you really want to live in and youre looking at a 3 month process. As far as prices, it wont have changed nearly that amount by the fall. 200k to 225k 6 months from now would be a 25 annual rate. Thats not happening anywhere. If you want to treat your house as an investment, your dad isnt wrong. Just like time in the market beats timing the market, the same would be true of the housing market. However, this isnt primarily an investment - its your home. You want your home to be great for years to come, and to be financially secure in it too. If its made some money in years when you sell it, great. But dont jump the gun and get something you wont be happy with. Then youll either be unhappy or sell early and lose all the extra money you were hoping for.Id say save up, work on getting your credit scores a bit higher, and reevaluate in 6 months - 1 year. 