If you can afford it and plan on staying a while, buying is the way to go. I'm in NW Oregon and waited to buy because I was nervous and thought I "needed 20% down to avoid PMI" and essentially missed out on an extra 1000sqft for the same price by waiting. Putting 10% down, my PMI was $40 a month, which is chump change in the grand scheme of things, and has already been removed due to increased value and payments.

Even still, buying in 2019 when I did, I'm in so much better shape now than if I'd continued renting. Rent would probably be $500-$1000 more each month, and I wouldn't be gaining equity on top of that.

Of course nobody has a crystal ball to make it 100% risk-free, but this is still a pretty solid strategy, and you live in an in-demand area in case you ever wanted or needed to sell, so you should be fine. If the interest rates go down substantially, refinancing is also a good idea.