Houses that were $550k about a year ago are now going for about $750k+ where we live and while we 'could' afford to purchase a house here, we view a home as an investment and feel that we'd be on the wrong side of the market for resale in ~5 years (when we would likely need somewhere larger for kids/want to move out of the area).However, it's always been our goal to move out to a county property (in PEC), as well as own multiple short term rentals for a more passive income.