You basically have to buy if you can afford it, only thing worse than paying a mortgage is paying someone else's. I'm closing in on my mortgage in my 30s which I never expected. Going to a trade college allowed me to save down payment and never be jobless, and buying a shitty townhome during the crash in what became a highly desirable area, allowed me to move to a huge country property before the market caught up here. Odd but very fortunate set of circumstances.