If he bought it outright, he might be ok. Once you own, you get to ride the wave of housing inflation instead of watch it carry the ability to own farther and farther away.

Though if it only gave him a down payment, then he's still just as much a wage slave dependent on not having a manager that dislikes him, though if he is able to make the payments, the above will still apply. I hope the housing crisis isn't going to be as bad on the inflation side, but if it continues previous trends, even with a mortgage, he'll be gaining equity faster than his payments.

Retirement is another story, though.