If I could have gotten that downpayment earlier I would have been able to buy my house. Now I need more money to buy the same house and the longer I wait I might get priced out again once I get the down payment together.

If I'm lucky there will be a crash and my dp that I saved will be enough. I prefer to focus on known entities though such as looking at levels.fyi and seeing what comparable position salaries are like right now.

If my peers were making the same amount as me I would probably not feel the same. I don't see it as jealousy because i knew the trade off I was making when I was younger. I just see it as the road I could have taken to have a house today.

FWIW, I don't necessarily regret the year I took off. It was life changing in more ways than a house would be. I just wish I wasn't as imbalanced when I came back from the trip and took my career a bit more seriously.