Should I build, wait, or buy a single family home?

[Todd Pieper]

Hello everyone!

Thank you for reading my post and giving any advice. I am looking for my first home to purchase and see how house-hacking is a great option. I am looking to move out around November or December but am looking to potentially luxury or traditional house hack. My concern lies with the location of these properties as most of them are in zip codes with over 3.5x the national crime average. I am looking for purchasing a move-in ready place in a class-A or B neighborhood. Should I consider purchasing a single-family home, save up, and move on to another home using my first home as a rental property? Should I consider building a duplex, tri-, or quad in a safe neighborhood? Or, should I wait and see what opens up these next months potentially paying for a premium on renovated older multifamily units?