Would repeat what has already been stated. Do you HAVE to live in the same area? If you have a spouse/kids, every decision is a ton harder since as a guy, i could live in a “poor” area and not feel much about my safety as long as my car is crap too.

Rent is tons more expensive I’ve noticed everywhere now compared to 2009. A 330k mortgage at such a low rate should be easy compared to what rent is now since my mortgage is less than what people pay in rents currently for me.

The problem with housing is we have to live somewhere vs. a nicer car, etc…Unless you can move to a lower cost of living area or change your housing type (apt/rent/don’t care about schools, etc…), hard to rent for less in the same area.