<prompt> Human: Im doing the math on trying to save for a down payment, how does anyone afford a house? Both myself and my partner make 50-55Kyear 100-110 total. In the area I live in, the average house price is about 500K. 20 is 100K! Doing some math, we both save about 1,200month after tax. This equates to about 29Kyear. 11K goes into IRAs, leaving about 18Kyear in extra savings. Yes, we have an emergency fund. That means we would have to save for 5 - 6 years to afford a down payment we would be 35 by then. By that time, who knows what the average home price will be!Is this situation the new normal, to not be able to afford a home until later in life or are we just behind? We are both working on increasing our incomes to shorten the time frame. I am also a little worried that my partner will want to buy a home sooner than 6 years down the road. Is there anything we can do to move the timeline up? Or should we move to a new area, etc. What do people typically do? Thanks!  <response>: Most people probably make more than that who are buying a 500k house? 