The visualizations were great and I think his point was to drive home how long it would take to own a home in the optimal case. In reality you should take his

The visualizations were great and I think his point was to drive home how long it would take to own a home in the optimal case. In reality you should take his metric and multiply it times 6 or 7 minimally. You're still going to have to pay at least the sale price of the house if you intend to own it free and clear. Also, since banks in the US don't create mortgages for longer than a 40-year term (I believe that's the max), if your value in his metric is greater than 5, and using my 6-7 multiplier, then you're never going to own a home in that location. That being said, a better metric might be the time to save up for a down payment that brings the mortgage and fees into a reasonable range for your salary. However, that calculation is much more complicated. Edit: I live in SF and I accept that I will never own a home free and clear here, unless I get exceptionally lucky. My plan is to get a mortgage in SF and eventually sell the place and use the equity to buy in a more affordable market.