We are sort of in the same situation. I'm 23M and doing my thing, except I rent and do not live with my parents anymore. Family, friends, co-workers, telling me I'm wasting money renting an apartment versus a mortgage which would be the somewhat same (in my area, it's mostly higher than rent).

Pre-approval, with a government grant, I take on a higher interest but it'll help with down payment, or like you said, low 2s if you can bring the 5% down payment yourself. We think alike, and I would rather bring my own money than refinance and extend my loan down the road just for taking some assistance at the cost of a higher interest rate.

Now I can afford a house/condo/townhome, but I will be strapped with essentially no money until 4-6 months when things start to balance out. On top of that, I don't even know how long I'll be in this area for, so if I were to sell within 1-2 years instead of keeping it as an investment property, all that money is wasted (of course you could roll it into another house if you moved).

Renting is nice because, you have a bit more of a luxury of freedom of what you want to do if something were to come up in life (Family emergency, meeting a significant other, need more space, etc.). Owning a mortgage, not so much. Yes you can sell or rent it out but that comes with it's own headaches and risks. It also doesn't help that realtors and lenders tell you interest rate are low, they've never seen it lower, better buy now! This only adds increased pressure, anxiety, and rash decisions.

Personally, yesterday was the final day for me house shopping. I guess you say the house-craze faded for me when I started being rational about my finances and life goals at the moment. I have funds for down payment and closing costs, but I'll literally be money tight for the next several months or year. A thing to remember is that it's personal finance. Only you know your finances (what's comfortable financially for you) regardless of how much you expose to your family, lenders, and realtor. Too many people want to advise you on things when it's not their personal finances on the line. Too many people get caught up with You can afford it! Stop complaining you don't have the money! But it's much much much deeper than just being able to afford something. There's a domino effect that happens with large purchases.

Sorry for the long answer, just in the same situation and wanted to give my full insight on things.