Instead of waiting, build a calculator in Excel or similar that shows various options, and update the numbers now and then. You'll start to get a "feel" for your options (which include renting, owning, building, moving, etc) and you will be more comfortable acting when the time is right.

You can't perfectly time the market but you can at least notice it.

In Canada big metro cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal), the spreadsheet will most likely tell you that you should have bought on sight instead of making a spreadsheet.

Three years? No one can time the market perfectly.

The time frame for house prices is much longer than the time frame of opinion piece writers. So you will see pieces in 2006 saying prices will never go down. If you waited 3-4 years they were half off. It happens.

Best thing is not to have a fixed plan but to be opportunistic.

Prices never went down in Canada for any substantial amount. Even 10% means we replay back to 1-2 years. Government of Canada actively intervene and change the immigration rate and the discount rate to keep prices from falling.