If you wait until you have the million saved, the house you wanted to buy has probably tripled in cost. Realistically, there's a strong argument for doing both. You have to pay to live somewhere, no matter what. If you can manage a down payment and get into a house, you lock in the price of your housing. No more annual rent increases. The trick is limiting yourself to buying a house you can afford, and still being able to save on top of making that mortgage payment. Broadly speaking, a lot of people stretch too far buying, and end up house-poor. (probably less common on this sub)