It’s no secret, the wave of majority home buyers right now is the millennial generation. According to the National Association of Realtors report (2019), millennial homebuyers remain the largest generation of buyers overall. Since I am a millennial myself who is obsessed with the real estate market, I want to make sure other people like me have the most current and accurate information to help them as they embark on the exciting, yet sometimes scary, real estate journey.

Here are my absolute best tips for you, the millennial, to make your home buying dreams a reality.

Pay Off Your Debt

The biggest challenge hindering the chance to step into the market is student loan debt followed by other typical consumer debt (e.g. credit cards and car loans). Since buying a home is the most expensive purchase you’ll likely ever make, you will need to be debt-free before you buy a home. If you have any debt, get on a budget now and start paying it off. I work with some amazing mortgage brokers who can help you start a plan to debt-freedom!

Save for a Down Payment

After paying off your debt, the next step is to start saving. Once you have a budget in place, start putting away a healthy percentage of your income into a separate savings account dedicated to your down payment. If only I would have listened to my mom when I got my first “serious” job at the age of 16, I would have been able to buy my first home a lot sooner than I did. Listen to your parents - they have your best interests at heart.  Most of us don’t pay cash for our first home – we need to get a mortgage. It’s important to have a strong down payment, preferably 10%-20%. However, today it is possible to get a mortgage loan with as little as 5% down, depending on your personal circumstances.

If you’re struggling to save for the down payment, you are not alone. Many millennials are not able to do it on their own. You can speed up the down payment saving process by accepting a money gift from a relative or a friend