While I don’t share pat’s optimism, he and mojo are right. If it is a certainty that your stay here will be short, don’t buy, that holds true for anywhere. A 5 year window is too short for real estate unless it is on the upswing, nowhere is on the upswing right now, flat is considered optimistic these days. R/E works best as a buy and hold, it’s transaction costs and lack of liquidity are it’s weakeness vs most other investments.

Save your money for the place you will be moving to, make sure to spread it around to hedge inflation. Depending on where it is and your current financial situation, you may want to shorten that 5 year window. If i knew my extended vacation was nearing an end and needed to move back to someplace like miami, phoenix or vegas, I’d leave now.