Entering the housing market has its challenges, but it looks like more people than ever are interested in becoming first-time homebuyers — and they are changing the housing market for everyone.
Vincent Malara is happy to call his place home, even though at times the process was far from easy.
"It was tons of putting in offers and not getting them and then putting in offers and not getting them," he said.
This first-time homebuyer says, as a millennial, Malara had one thing on his mind.
"Long-term financial success," he said. "Just kind of building that small little empire one step at a time."
Malara is part of a national trend. Despite stalled wage growth and fears about the housing market, millennials across the country are becoming more interested in buying real estate.
According to the National Association of Realtors, first-time homebuyers made up 33 percent of all home transactions in May.
So, what does it mean? Experts say when first-time buyers gain equity, they're able to use it to buy more expensive homes. That means people at the next level will be able to sell their homes at a competitive rate.
Online searches for information about first-time homebuying is at an all-time high, with the most popular question being, 'How much mortgage can I afford?'
Malara took a different path.
"I just kind of sent in my paperwork," Malara says. "And my mortgage broker really kind of just took it, ran with it, and said all right this is how much you can afford."
Still he's glad more people are interested in homebuying, and that he has a home of his own.
"I'm happy," Malara says.
