It takes most people a lot more than 6mo to save up a 6mo reserve. Delaying a house purchase by a year or two is not a practical option for most people. You have external things constraining your timeline to buy.
-We are having a baby, so we need to move out of our 2 bedroom apartment and get a 3 bedroom house -Our rent is increasing so we need to buy a house (even though the mortgage is often more than rent) -We need a garage for our cars, so let's buy a house -We have money in our savings that isn't earning anything for us, so let's buy a house and put it to work. -We don't like sharing walls with neighbors, so we need a house. -Our parents say we are throwing money away at rent and should buy a house so we can build wealth.
Each excuse has some validity to it, but none of them really mean you need to buy a house RIGHT NOW.
- We (US) loose about 1/3rd of our income to taxes. These aren't paid when you have no income.* - A certain portion of income goes to retirement and saving for a rainy day... Well, you don't save for a rainy day when it's a rainy day. - Major purchases can be deferred - Major expenses, like vacations, can be skipped. - Some banks will let you switch to interest-only in hard times - ect
So, roughly speaking, 6 months of reserve is much less than 6 months of pre-tax income.
* If you have the misfortune of an extended unemployment, it will shift your tax bracket and you pay even lower taxes.