Buying my house in my early 20s has been a life saver. When I did get an itch to travel a bit, I rented it out. My son, 27, just bought a very nice 3B/3B just west of Baltimore for what you’d pay for a one bedroom condo in my tourist area. His mortgage is less than his rent was in his prior 750sf apartment about 30 miles from him now. My D, a junior in college, is already expressing an interest in owning her own home, most likely a small condo for her though to avoid trying to maintain a yard, etc, at least until she is settled down with a SO. One she determines her career goals and an approximate working area, she’ll most likely start looking.
I understand that real estate is not always an investment but in the the Northeast the prices and assessments just keep rising, and the rental costs are rising with them. There were a few stagnant years here but other than an isolated town or two in my immediate area where the opioid crisis has caused prices to fall considerably, everything else continues to rise.
@CountingDown, my S spent well over a year looking for a home in the MD/VA area and several times was outbid higher than the asking price. He moved from a Rockville condo (what a great town center) to a small town in MD that is so similar to where he grew up it was amazing. Both he and his GF are about a 30 minute commute from work, he in one direction, she in the other, but neither has to deal with that crazy traffic. I was really impressed with the house and with the town.