I disagree with the advice to rent. You are going to spend about the same amount renting as you would in a mortgage, get no tax incentives, and build zero equity. Building equity will help you get to a bigger house later. Plus, interest rates are low right now. I would figure out what you are comfortable spending monthly and talk to a lender to get a sense for your price range then work with a realtor.

Baltimore and Washington prices are not comparable in any way.

I'd wait until after the election at a minimum. Lots of uncertainty and more potential headwinds than tailwinds for real estate, at the moment.

Do you have kids or other big expenses?

We have and income around yours and live in an ~550k house in manor woods area of Rockville. We bought for $475k when our income was more like $150k. I’m glad we bought where we did, though in early years with kids in daycare budget was tight.

Agree with the others to rent first until you get a feel of the area, but I'll add that we have a similar HHI and bought a house for 550K. We started with a lower budget but found it impossible to find a suitable house in the area (anything under 500K gets like 20+ bids). Our mortage with 20% down is about $2,300, which is about what we'd be paying to rent a two bedroom apartment (and we have a 3 bedroom house with a finished basement and yard in a great walkable location in Takoma DC). We've saved up enough in our first year of homeownership to do a major remodel of the kitchen. So definitely doable.

Anonymous wrote:OP here again, and also, GF is now my fiance.

Congrats!!