At what age did you buy your first house? I'm 34 and I'm honestly quite ashamed that I still haven't figured it out and saved enough for a house of my own. All the money I've spent in the last 10 years as rent could have easily been a mortgage, but it's the down payment that's the hard part. What habits of yours or what trick in life helped you save up for your first home?

I bought my first house at 31, but honestly, the age varies a lot. Many people buy later and there’s no shame in that. Saving for the down payment was the toughest part for me, too. What helped most was automating my savings: I set up a separate account just for my “house fund” and had money automatically moved from my paycheck every month, even if it wasn’t a huge amount. I also tracked my spending for a few months and cut out little things like eating out and random subscriptions which made a bigger difference than I expected.

Early 40s here, so don’t be that ashamed. This is the new normal for many over 30. For many years I had trouble saving the requisite 20% and also lived in a HCOL east coast area. Ended up saving up for down payment by living in a good but not glamorous city apt without rent being raised for nearly a decade and wisely moved jobs a few times that resulted in 20-30% income boosts each time. No major expenses beyond rent and lived reasonably within my means without being a total pennypincher. Bought a beautiful old house in burbs during covid that has appreciated well, and I also only put down 10% (but that was nearly 80k).

Butttttt. Looking back, I wish I had bought a multifamily to take advantage of renters paying some of my mortgage. Or bypassed buying a home even longer and invested in Midwest/south SFHs that would have generated income and (in retrospect) appreciated amazingly during covid. Or been more diligent about researching low down payment mortgage options, especially for house hacking.

It’s not an easy go at all. And assuming like me you don’t have wealthy family who could throw cash your way to help. But you can get there if you’re focused and creative about your spending habits, and your mortgage/down payment options.

Comparison is the thief of joy. Do what’s best for you

First no shame in this. Everyone has their own time. Don’t ever feel a rush to do it. I bought mine when I was 29. I ate out like once a month or two. I put 40% of my income into savings for anything (house, student loan, and whatnot). I ate like a collage kid and would seek any opportunities to work on anything outside my normal job. Look for someone who can help with interest rate (new build? Seller’s incentive?) good luck!

31 but bought with my partner and we’re house hacking by renting a portion of the home to my sister. Just remember that first time buyers only need 3-5% down and closing costs is probably another 3-5%.

I’m 31 and looking now, and the only reason I’m even able to pull it off is because although I’m in a VHCOL city now, I’m looking in a MCOL city, while being remote, and while having a side gig that has brought me an extra 6k a month which has created my down payment fund.

Don’t know how I would’ve done it if I didn’t luck into the side stuff so trying to make it work for as long as possible

Edit: say all that to say it’s TOUGH. Do not feel bad

27..put 5%down on $410 semi attached house. Later years I took a 50k loan from my 401k and dropped it on my mortgage and refinanced. Good luck you can do it..get your a good mortgage broker who can explain your options

Depends where you live. Most of america rn it’s significantly cheaper to rent. You have to make a lot of compromises to get a house that’s affordable…

Bought my first home at 29, it was a co-op, small 1-BR apartment. I lived with my parents after I graduated college, that helped me saved for the down payment for the co-op.

So nice to read all of these stories.

38. I was living in a HCOL at the time and still had student loans. I knew i needed to take advantage of the bottom falling out in 2009 and could sense that it was a now or never moment. Found a mediocre condo in a very desirable/trendy neighborhood and got it on a short sale with 10% down. Instant equity as soon as I closed, since it was a short sale. After about a year, I refinanced to a lower rate and got rid of the PMI. Eventually sold it and used half the profits to pay off my student loans.

Don't compare yourself to anyone else. Everything comes in its own time. Just make sure you're doing everything you can to put yourself in a position to succeed and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. It's uncomfortable at first, but it gets much easier when the ball starts rolling.

Yo 34 is normal. Influencers want to tell you that you should own a mansion by now but those influencers are just renting the house and shooting a ton of content to post periodically

Shame for what reason? I'm still waiting to buy a home. I have a white collar/trade job. Inflation has been so high on the type of house and area I've tried buy and live in. Circumstances happened. No reason to be ashamed of Circumstances.
I have family and know colleagues still waiting to buy a home.

I was 26, needed about 40k total for 5% down a d closing costs on a 500k townhouse. Was a bit lucky and had 15k from family which helped tremendously

It took a decade after my bsme to save the down payment. Ended up doing 10% down on a conventional loan, couldn't buy my own house today if I had to again. The Covid dip in the area helped a lot, too. Hcol area and my mortgage is the equivalent of a 1 bedroom downtown even with my pmi...

23. The idea is to save as much earliest possible.

25 - only needed about 3.5% down and withdrew my 401k from a company I had been at for just under 2 years to cover the costs. Got home price reduced and lender credits to cover some of the closing costs too. Bought another house at 27 and negotiated over 20k from both the seller and lender to cover closing costs

35. Aggressively saved some from each paycheck and the majority of each bonus until I had enough for the down payment.

No. You do not need 20% down to buy a home. If you get an FHA you can put 3% down. If you want a home start planning to today and aim to buy in the next 1 -2 years. It definitely sounds like you have not been responsible with your finances. Make a change today and start better habits

Housing is more unaffordable now than ever in our lifetimes, especially in major cities.

2 thoughts:
- have you looked into or considered a condo or townhome? They don’t appreciate as well as houses, but can come out ahead compared to renting depending on the details and your hold period.
- have you considered buying a house as a rental / investment property? If you have money for a down payment, just not in the city you live in, that might be one route to go to be able to hold real estate in your investment portfolio. Not having $200k to $300k for a down payment in a HCOL city is one thing. Not having $50k for an investment property in a lower cost of living city that still earns you some returns and appreciation is another. Is your issue the market that you currently live in being too high compared to your savings, or is the bigger issue an inability to save major money for a down payment in general?