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Yahoo Personal Finance · monkeybusinessimages via Getty Images For many aspiring homeowners, buying a house has become a milestone that affects everything else in life. New data from The Coldwell Banker 2025 American Dream Report shows that 71% of would-be buyers delay at least one major life event, such as getting married or having kids, because they want to buy a home first. But it doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing when it comes to grabbing your slice of the home equity pie. You can own a place to live and accomplish other life goals with the right strategy.
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MORE: See our top picks for mortgage lenders offering low or no down payments.
The new American Dream: Why homeownership is shaping people’s timelines
This new report from Coldwell Banker shows how deeply homeownership influences the timing of major life milestones. Just to make buying a home a top priority, aspiring homeowners are:
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Delaying marriage or having children (18%)
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Postponing a career change (17%)
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Waiting to live independently (16%)
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Holding off on starting a business (15%)
The ripple effect is even stronger for Gen Z. About 84% of hopeful Gen Z homeowners say they’re delaying at least one important life decision, and nearly one in three (29%) are waiting to have kids to prioritize homeownership. Many don’t expect to buy until their 40s, pushing milestones even farther out.
Jason Waugh, president of Coldwell Banker, said the pattern reflects how strongly people view real estate as the foundation for long-term stability.
“Real estate is an asset class that’s been proven over time to build wealth, even intergenerational wealth,” said Waugh. “It’s hard to replicate in any other way.”
But why do younger generations think it’s homeownership before anything else? Waugh said part of the delay comes from misunderstandings about what buyers actually need to break into the housing market.
“My experience has been that some folks just aren’t aware of all the options,” he said. “Like, they hear if you don’t have 20% down, you won’t be a homeowner. That’s simply not true. But it’s our job to be educators in the asset class of housing to break down these limiting beliefs around homeownership.”
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Discover how long it takes people in each state to save for a 20% vs. 5% down payment.
8 strategies to achieve homeownership without pausing your life
In speaking with Waugh, one thing was clear: He’s passionate about helping aspiring homeowners understand that it’s possible to advance multiple financial goals at the same time. “As the father to five teenage daughters, I have these conversations a lot,” he said.
To break down those limiting beliefs about homeownership from generations past, Waugh said it all starts with a plan — one that likely begins long before you ever consider filling out a mortgage application.
1. Build your home-buying team early, even if you’re years out
The easiest way to get your life goals and future home in sync? Waugh said to bring in professionals before you even feel ready to buy.
A mortgage lender can size up where you stand financially, what price range makes sense, and which tweaks to your money situation will have the biggest payoff. Maybe it’s paying down one credit card. Maybe it’s adjusting your savings habits. Small moves can have a serious impact.
A real estate agent, on the other hand, can help you understand potential neighborhoods, spot trends, and help you get familiar with what’s realistic in your market long before you start touring homes.
2. Create a flexible financial plan that supports multiple goals
A rigid savings plan is often what forces people to delay some of life’s major goals. However, a flexible one does the opposite.
A trick to help you move multiple goals forward simultaneously is to set up a high-yield savings account with separate savings “buckets”: one for a down payment, one for emergencies, and separate ones for other goals, such as wedding expenses, having children, educational costs, or a career change. Automating transfers every payday can help each bucket grow steadily, even with smaller contributions.
To keep your savings on track, revisit your buckets quarterly. Maybe your childcare expenses rise or a promotion boosts your income. Another milestone may bump up or down in priority. Shifting your plan to fit your life keeps you moving toward a home without putting the rest of your world on standby.
3. Consider co-ownership to shorten your timeline
If becoming a first-time home buyer feels out of reach in the near future, expanding your buying options could help you unlock homeownership faster.
Co-buying, which involves obtaining a joint mortgage with family, friends, or a partner, can help split the up-front cost and ongoing monthly payments. More than a third of respondents in the survey said they’d co-buy with family; a third would buy with a friend or co-worker. While it might seem unconventional, Waugh said co-buying is simply another iteration of a strategy that has worked for decades.
“It’s no different than an individual buying a duplex or triplex, then renting out the other units to offset the mortgage payment,” he said. “The key is getting into the homeownership market and growing your equity.”
If you’re worried about co-buying and what it looks like when a single owner wants to sell, Waugh said you have plenty of options. Selling a share of the home, buying out another owner, or even renting that portion of the home and having the monthly income go toward the vacating owner — anything’s possible. A key to co-buying success is discussing everyone’s wishes up front and putting everything in writing.
4. Redefine what a 'starter home' looks like
You may be saving for a house that ticks all of your boxes, but your first home doesn’t have to be your dream house. In today’s market, flexibility is a significant advantage. For a starter home, consider condos, townhomes, smaller single-family homes that suit your current needs, or fixer-uppers.
These homes often cost less, which helps you save for a down payment faster, enter the market sooner, and reserve more of your budget for other goals.
5. Consider geographic moves, temporary or long term
If your local real estate market seems impossibly competitive due to high home prices, consider expanding your search. A move, even a temporary one, to a more affordable area can drastically reduce your costs. Whether it’s a strategic move to a suburb that’s a 45-minute commute to work or a move out of state to a city with lower home prices, either option could make you a homeowner faster.
From housing prices to groceries and childcare, a lower cost of living makes saving easier without forcing you to delay the joys that brighten your life.
The goal is to build equity so when you decide to sell, you have cash to parlay into a down payment on a home closer to “home,” or where you want to settle down in the long term. A good number to shoot for? Figure out what you’ll need for a down payment and closing costs in your preferred housing market, then add 6%. That extra 6% helps cover real estate commissions when you sell your existing home, since sellers still typically pay those fees despite recent NAR rule changes.
A less-talked-about hack? Buying a home in a more affordable area while you continue to rent in your local market. If market rents in the area where you can afford to buy are more than enough to cover the mortgage on an investment property, the move could be worth considering. This way, you can build equity and eventually sell without needing to relocate.
Final food for thought: Your mortgage interest rate on an investment home will likely come in a bit higher than for a primary residence.
6. Strategically strengthen your financial profile
A small adjustment to your financial profile can make a big difference when it comes to qualifying for a home loan. If your credit score is too low to get a mortgage, start by paying down one high-interest revolving balance (like a credit card) and putting every bill on autopay so nothing slips through the cracks.
If your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio (the percentage of your income that goes toward your debts each month) is too high, tackle your highest monthly payment first or consider consolidating your debts to lower your monthly payments.
If income is holding you back from a more favorable mortgage rate or total loan amount, look for flexible or seasonal work that fits around your schedule without letting an extra gig take over your life.
Each improvement you make to your overall financial picture helps accelerate your home-buying timeline while leaving room for personal and family goals.
7. Sequence major milestones without sacrificing stability
Homeownership doesn’t have to be the first milestone on your financial timeline. Some buyers start families first and plan to buy later when their income stabilizes. Others switch careers before house hunting to increase their long-term earning potential. How you prioritize and order your milestones is entirely up to you.
Take a moment and outline what matters most over the next couple of years. What needs to happen first? What can happen at the same time? What can wait without derailing your goals? There’s no one right “order,” but there’s a unique one that makes your life feel doable, enjoyable, and stable.
8. Prepare for a longer home-buying journey while still living your life
If you expect to buy a home later in life, that doesn’t mean everything else gets put on hold. You can use the extra time to build a solid financial foundation: an emergency fund, steady credit habits, and a savings routine you can maintain even when life comes along with its little surprises.
Then keep living. Take trips. Make career moves. Start the family you want. A longer home-buying timeline simply means you’re building financial readiness and achieving meaningful life goals simultaneously.
“It’s about getting started,” said Waugh.
Laura Grace Tarpley edited this article.
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