When should the average Joe buy property?

I've just turned a third of a century and thoughts about financial decisions are starting to creep into my mind. I have been in a decent professional position for a while now and have been self managing my savings which are currently at ~$100K. I have been trying to follow a philosophy of diversifying my investments and not borrowing money.
My issue is that I get a sinking feeling in my heart every fortnight when I dump half my salary in rent. But at the moment buying a property would go completely against my philosophy, as I would need to invest most of my savings into a property and simultaneously take on a huge debt.
I wanted to start this thread to get a gauge on what the common thoughts were on this subject. Should I swap the stress of wasting money on rent for the stress of having all my eggs in one basket? or should I hold out for a few or more years until I have enough saved so that I can stay diversified and take on a smaller debt?