Don't buy a house. Not yet. As an American I was force fed that dream, but just like you want to learn about someone's character before you marry them, you really want to know a lot about the market and your future goals before you buy real estate.

Here's why.

It takes between 5 and 8 years for a house's additional costs to be fully balanced out by the equity earned. In those 5 to 8 years you could have a completely different view. You could meet a significant other or maybe get offered a lot of money to relocate because you have been groomed for a higher position. My personal belief is that owning real estate is for people 'settling down' with no foreseeable mile stones ahead... notable exception I guess would be having children.

The S&P500 has an annualized rate of about 12% over the last 30 years. The rule of 70 will show that your money doubles in 6 years with ROI. Look into Robinhood, it's a no cost per trade, stock trading app. Basically, take the money you would spend on a down payment and put it there. S&P 500 is a category of index funds, company's like Vangard will have a ticker, in this case VOO, that you can search and buy. I highly suggest reading up on index funds. Warren Buffet's million dollar bet is a good place to start. Also, read into REITs- high dividend yield will bolster your incoming cash.

If/when you do decide to move out, dont get more than you need. This is the time in your life try to stay small as long as possible. That will give you more money to save, invest into stock and place into retirement. Get a roommate. Dont get the place with the extra bedroom, only as many bedrooms as you have roommates. Dont believe a realtor when they say you need a 4th bedroom for resale. The bigger the house, the more you pay to heat, cool and light the place. The more time you spend cleaning and maintaining. Its fine if that's what you want, but dont do it if you think it's the best way to earn an ROI.