Facing the high cost of housing

NY Times - The typical age of a first-time home buyer is 36, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors. When the survey was first taken in 1981, the median age for first-time buyers was 29. Home prices surged in the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in recent months fell only slightly from those peaks.

The cost of renting has skyrocketed in many cities, eroding the ability of tenants to save. Add other forces — like high student loan debt and wages that haven’t kept up with inflation — and it’s no surprise that young adults appear to be renting for longer and becoming homeowners later, if ever. But against these odds, many are still making it happen. Twenty-nine percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 owned their homes in 2021, the Federal Reserve found.

Good old-fashioned saving is generally not enough to afford a home in your 20s. That is especially true for young people just starting out in their careers. Those who do manage to buy before 30 often get help from family or have high-paying jobs. But some are finding other paths to homeownership by settling down in lower-cost-of-living areas or tapping into programs that help reduce down payment costs for qualifying buyers.