The best advice I can give you is to not buy more house than you need (too expensive will run the risk of negative equity). But also make sure what you get will meet your needs for at least a decade or so. And watch out for potentially high property taxes.

One guy I worked with had an issue where his family outgrew the house he bought, but he couldn't get enough out of it for a down payment on a bigger place (even though the bigger house was cheaper than what he bought his small 2-bedroom for). So you don't want to get into this situation either.

Another situation that just happened to someone else I work with, she bought a house that she thought was reasonable. However her property taxes took a bit of a jump (the previous owner had lower taxes due to some senior discount). And it will be a few more years before she gets enough equity in it that can be used towards another house.

This is a complicated question, depending on your cash position, where you want to buy, alternatives to buying, risk tolerance, future interest rates, and forward plans (5-10 years).

No one else can tell you that you shouldn't buy right now, if you can afford a house, need a house, and are willing to potentially be stuck under water for 5-10 years if prices go down, there are good reasons to purchase in this market. Just know going in that inventories are at historic lows, prices are very high, terms for purchasers are bad (in many markets), and many people are going to regret rushing in and purchasing homes in haste because they are worried about missing out, due to how quickly homes are selling.

Reasonable advice. Thank you both.