Property generally increases in value while you pay it down.
My wife and I bought a $400k 3 bedroom flat near the university 8 years ago and we were both scared as fuck. paid $100k off it and just sold it for $600k
That $300k cheque we just used for the downpayment on building a "how do people afford these houses!?!" Thats going to cost $800k. But really our mortgage is only going to go up 20%