You mentioned you were saving money for the previous two years. Median home prices likely increased ~30% during that time (according to https://www.zillow.com/b

You mentioned you were saving money for the previous two years. Median home prices likely increased ~30% during that time (according to https://www.zillow.com/berkeley-ca/home-values/ https://www.zillow.com/berkeley-ca/home-values/) which would have been more than the amount you saved up. That's the incumbent-wins nature of the Bay Area housing market-- someone owning a median home would have increased net worth more than someone who saved a large portion of income. This trend has of course continued in recent years and housing has "outrun" people's ability to save for it, to even a larger extent.