I'm thinking of buying a home in a hcol area, and am concerned about a housing bubble. I've heard almost equal advice that you can't time markets to this is a huge bubble. Because of my high savings rate (even with the home purchase), I can throw a lot into my mortgage beyond the minimum, so it would take a crash like 2008 for me to be truly underwater, in which case I'd rent out after moving. However, since part of my FIRE plan involves paying cash for a house in a lcol area, this will be more difficult.
Any ideas for ways to manage/hedge? Or is avoidance the only way?
Since I can FIRE in 5-7 years (7 realistically), I could just rent for the remainder of the time. This would normally be the default option, but my partner and I are feeling the itch to own our own place that we can fix up/personalize.