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Buying a home as a millennial is possible with smart savings strategies.
- Millennials are taking longer to save to buy a home thanks to a dip in affordability and a rise in student loan debt.
- But buying a home as a millennial is possible - we talked to five millennial homeowners to find out how they did it.
- By adhering to a budget, using an assistance program, living rent-free with their parents, or opting for down payments below the standard 20%, they were able to save enough to buy their first home.
Millennials are waiting longer than ever to buy homes - but that's because buying a home is harder than it was for their parents' generation.
Millennials buying their first home today will pay 39% 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% since the 1960s, when adjusted for inflation.
Housing is also less affordable for millennials compared to the overall population, who likely have higher incomes from more work experience.
They're also spending more on renting and are busy tackling a record level of student loan debt, which makes 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. 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.
Here, they share the savings strategies and tactics they used to become first-time homebuyers, from house hacking and assistance programs to budgeting and opting for lower down payments, as well as their advice on how to pave your own path toward homeownership.