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There are a tons of programs that are 0% down or 3% down for first time home buyers that have low cap PMI/no PMI or get rid of it at some equity goal like 20% paid off etc.... The fees don't even factor in. The saving 20% thing hasn't been true for almost 40 years. It doesn't make your offer more attractive than a higher one at 3%. Not in any way that matters, cash sales are nice because you can wave all kinds of stuff and get it done fast, anything else is mostly the same with some caveats. I'm glad you were able to get in when you did, but clearly you wanted to buy earlier, and you easily could have, even faster if you had done it with a partner. I didn't scrimp and save, I bought my first property in foreclosure with 5% down that I put on a credit card and they handed me a 15k check at closing.
Most people in the USA own houses, around 2/3rds, so is 1/3 of the population renting really a crisis? It is historically average for modern times.
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