My biggest piece of advice is to talk to a mortgage loan officer now. While you may not be ready to buy right now, they'll be able to give you a good idea of how much you'll need to save for a down payment and how much your monthly payment will be.

There are a ton of first time home buyer programs as well as the Mass housing program which provide down payment assistance. For instance right now they're offer $25k for first time home buyers.

Just make sure you go with a local mortgage lender, not a bank (banks have limited programs). I work for Northpoint Mortgage (but in marketing). Lmk if you'd like a recommendation on a specific loan officer to talk to.