[latencyloser]

I'm about your age, I also live in Seattle. Though, I do have a partner and a dog so that makes some difference. I chose to buy a home and I'm quite happy with it overall. It's a good place to have people over since it's much larger than the average apartment, I don't have to move every year or so to fight the rising rent, I have plenty of space for projects and storage of various hobbies. My family doesn't have to stay in a hotel when they visit because I have a spare bedroom now. I've also learned a ton of skills related to home ownership such as basic construction, electrical work, etc. which can be a plus if you're into that sort of thing. I prefer the quiet of the suburbs as well.

That being said, my commute is atrocious. It's about 1.5hrs each way into the city. Even so, I feel it's worth it. But obviously may not be for everyone.

Personally, I wouldn't look at it as an investment. It's more a lifestyle thing that you've gotta think you'll be happier with. My mortgage is the same as my rent was at the time, so I thought I was netting out just fine, but houses have a lot of expensive maintenance events that pop up and will put you in the red pretty quick if you're not careful. For example, my heat pump and furnace went out recently which will set me back several thousand to fix. So, while you're building equity in something, there is a hidden cost with that. Worth being aware of.

Hope that helps.