The only reason my partner and i could is we lucked out and bought our house at the bottom of the housing market during COVID. Interest rates hit the lowest point just as we began financing but people hadn't quite started buying yet so prices had bottomed out. It "appreciated" by over 50% within two years, like fucking magic.

If we had waited until now, we could not afford to buy our two bedroom, one bath, <1000 square foot, old-as-fuck, not fancy house. The monthly payment would be almost 2.5x higher and the FHA minimum down payment nearly killed us already at the lower price.

My partner and I both have advanced degrees and now make over $200k a year (disclaimer: we live in one of the top 5 highest cost of living areas in the US). We still don't make enough to adopt kids. The market, economy, and country in general are just super fucked.