Me: 32 yo PhD Engineer ~100k
Wife: 25 yo Materials grad student ~25k
Colleges: Cornell, UCSB
Rent: $1650 for 2-1 half-duplex
Total Expenses (inc rent): ~50k
We can afford to buy, but it would take most of our assets and most of our future income (especially when my wife takes 5 years off to have kids), and would demolish any hope we have of retiring young. And though I can see that some people can afford to buy at current prices, I seriously doubt that anyone would be able to buy from US in a decade such that we could escape with a reasonable profit. Until that changes, the opportunity cost (in money and flexibility) of buying a house is just too bloody high.
