[ptero]

I know plenty of folks who bought homes on the assumption that it is somehow a good investment, they are paying themselves, etc. to find that taxes, fees and repairs eat up both their free time and expected profits.

Buying a home can be profitable, but it can also impact the career (e.g., tie one up in the wrong geography). Many landlords make this work by investing lots of time in it (and scaling it up to multiple properties).

A younger person working in tech will IMO be much better off investing this time into learning new things, networking. My 2c.