The author's advice is country dependent. My assumption is that he is writing from the perspective of buying in India. 1) In India, rents are very low compare

The author's advice is country dependent. My assumption is that he is writing from the perspective of buying in India. 1) In India, rents are very low compared to mortgage payments. 2) Home value appreciation is low given the rate of inflation. 3) financial instruments like home equity line of credit are not available. So yes, it probably is not a good decision to buy a house in a big city in India. Elsewhere? Do your own calculation.