5 millennials who became homeowners in their 20s share tips on buying your first house

Millennials are waiting longer to buy homes – but that is because buying a home is harder than it was for their parents’ generation.

Millennials buying their first home today are likely to pay 39 per cent more than baby boomers who bought their first home in the 1980s, according to Student Loan Hero. The value of homes has increased by 73 per cent since the 1960s, when adjusted for inflation.

Housing is also less affordable for millennials compared with the overall population, whose incomes are likely higher because of more work experience.

Millennials are also spending more on renting and are busy tackling a record level of student-loan debt, making it hard to take on a mortgage loan, Business Insider’s Akin Oyedele previously reported.

As a result, it’s taking millennials longer to save. But while it’s no easy feat, becoming a homeowner is possible. We talked to five millennial homeowners who managed to save enough to buy their first home.

They shared the savings strategies and tactics they used to become first-time homebuyers, from house hacking and assistance programmes to budgeting and opting for lower down payments, as well as their advice on how to pave your own path toward home ownership.

Remi Ishizuka, 30, bought an US$875,000 home in Los Angeles by creating a separate savings account and visiting a financial coach.

Ishizuka saved diligently for five years before purchasing her US$875,000 home in 2018.

“I cut back on expenses, and had a really strict monthly budget that I stuck to, and used a financial coach to help me stay accountable and within this budget each month,” says Ishizuka, now a full-time blogger at Rrayyme.