The US is not up 150% in the last 10 years. Look at real data, not clickfarm articles. From Sep 2011, it's up 85%. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/csushpins

The US is not up 150% in the last 10 years. Look at real data, not clickfarm articles. From Sep 2011, it's up 85%. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/csushpinsa https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/csushpinsa So, sure during the greatest bull run in home price history, prices have gone up significantly over 10 years. But it is fanatical to quote the largest bull run in history as a thing that will likely happen in the future. And I said if you wanted to quote the fanatical scenario, then you needed to apply the equally fanatical scenario that your saving will appreciate with the market appreciation of said fanatical scenario. On Sep 1 2011, the SPY ETF adjusted for dividends was 92.69. Right now, it is 444. That's a 379% increase. 17% annually. That compares to the 6% annual appreciation of homes. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPY/history?period1=728265600&period2=1632355200&interval=1mo&filter=history&frequency=1mo&includeAdjustedClose=true https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPY/history?period1=72826560... Now, I don't know about the UK for property taxes. In the US, it's charged to the owner. Fine. But you can always choose to live inexpensively. I know people who earn six figures and spend $700/mo on rent because they live with roommates in unfashionable areas. These people save upwards of 75% of their take home. But if you insist it's impossible to save 50% of take home, then I don't know what to tell you. My friends must not exist. But I'll give you some benefit of the doubt and assume 30% is the absolute most you can save. Then if you earn 100k and want to buy a 700k house, if you put away 30k each year, it will appreciate to 154k in 4 years. The house that increases at 6% will now be 833k, and you damn near have a down payment (18.5%) in 4 years. This scales to any income, so don't tell me I'm out of touch with my income assumptions.