Where to keep downpayment money if I’m still a ways from purchasing a house?

I’m planning on purchasing a house next year (probably around next year).

I usually don’t keep much cash in my savings. I usually invest my money as soon as I receive it, but because I’m purchasing within a year, I haven’t done that.

I’ll have the downpayment ready in the next few months, but I also don’t really want to have it sitting in my bank. Stocks are cheap right now, so I’m pretty tempted to buy with my downpayment money, but if the market crashes further in the next year, then that would probably delay me from purchasing a house, so I’m wondering what other options I should explore in my position.

Here are what netizens think:

If you’re looking to buy a house in under a year, you should just keep the money

Your investment horizon is 9-mo. You should not put in stocks. 

in our current interest rate environment and your shop period, seems like even just a savings account would do.

Do not invest in the stock market for time horizons closer than 5 years.

“Stocks are cheap right now” sure compared to January 2022, but you don’t know what the price will be in 6 months or a year or 2.