<prompt> Human: Im in Seattle WA, and house prices here are high. Moved here a year ago with wife and did not have much in savings before that. Together, our income is 350k before taxes, and about 190k after taxes and 401k which we contribute until the company match. We dont expect it to change much over the next few years.Currently, we rent, which costs us 3000 per month.Right now, we have 150k in savings that is actually tied into a lot of things like CDs, stocks, ESPPs etc. Every year we will save about 150k if things go great, and maybe about 100k if there are expenses like children in future.Due to personal reasons, we really cannot predict at all if we will stay here long term or not, but we are definitely here for the next 2-5 years.Im trying to figure out if it makes sense for us to buy a house right now. We dont need a house right now, renting is fine, but we may be able to afford it depending on the cost.Most houses we liked were 1Mil and we cant even make the 20 percent down payment for that right now, but could in six months after draining out all our savings. In the past 5 years, prices have doubled in Seattle, so Im afraid prices will rise even more and I feel like taking advantage of the stabilized prices right now. On the other hand, we can afford a house that is around 700k but they are usually tiny townhouses or very old houses and just dont seem valuable enough to spend 700k on. Buying such a house right now would mean dropping our quality of life, with more commutes, the headache of a mortgage, maintainance and a worse place to live in.Im trying to understand, as a rule of thumb, when does it make sense to buy a house? Am I being very foolish by risking all my money into a nice house, or is it just taking a calculated risk?And should I keep renting till I actually need a bigger house, or should I plan long term and buy a house right now itself?  <response>: Due to personal reasons, we really cannot predict at all if we will stay here long term or not, but we are definitely here for the next 2-5 years.I would keep renting. You guys are crushing it, keep things low variance for now. 