Wait as long as you comfortably can. If you find the property you love and it is priced right, then perhaps that is the time to buy. I say “love” . . . so you better LOVE it.
My recipe as one who just left the OC homeownership club . . .
Generally, figure our the historical Year Over Year appreciation in your area for the last 10 to 15 years. Then, take the value of your property at the beginning of say 1998 and then calculate the Y-O-Y appreciation up to the current date. If you find that a property is “reasonably” within a comfort zone for you if you LOVE the property, then that might be the buy for you. If it is still out of the ballpark, then decide whether that piece is worth the added cost for 30 years. If so, buy the house. If not, wait awhile longer and save yourself another year’s salary.
