We had a thread about whether a first time buyer’s purchase is an investement or not. I was in the yes camp. The point I take is that if you do it wrong it hurts.It could be part of a slippery slope up down or a ladder up.
I don’t think you can look at what you are thinking about and say it is a no brainer. When you find something that is, then I would bet it is a good investment. I am not going to go into what that might be because you are the one who has to be able to live there. I’d process it though,as you are sensibly doing, and wait until I could move into something that made me laugh all the way to the bank.
First time buyers who have waited until now will likely have as good of an opportunity to do that as anyone ever had. That is if they can sacrifice a little somewhere. It might be comfort it might mean looking a little poor.Depends on where you are starting at. Doing it right is what matters. “These days”, like your land lord lived,are not over just consider the timing and other options very well.
This is not to say that you, or anyone else,has to look at their home as a launching pad to good real estate investing….but the question did come up. It it beats being “upside down” going nowhere.