re: In the market for a house...

I feel like several posters here may have a skewed idea of current home prices and trajectory of home prices. I’m not an expert by any means, but my understanding is that the median home price in many competitive markets has skyrocketed over the past couple of years, and any drop in mortgage rates is going to exacerbate the price competition. Anecdotally, this seems to be borne out by the list prices for any desirable area that I’ve glanced at online.

Those suggesting that the OP should wait for income to increase, or mortgage rates to decrease, may be effectively suggesting that OP should not be buying a home there at any point in the near future. Which begs the question, could they find similar/equivalent jobs in another market with lower housing costs?