{"id":257391,"date":"2025-11-02T10:49:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T10:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/257391\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T10:49:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T10:49:15","slug":"can-giving-up-your-lattes-help-you-afford-a-home-real-estate-experts-think-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/257391\/","title":{"rendered":"Can giving up your lattes help you afford a home? Real estate experts think so"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is your latte habit holding you back on your journey to homeownership? A financial expert says yes, according to Realtor.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

A daily coffee addiction, ride-sharing, dining out and alcohol are all eating into potential savings, according to Pamela Liebman, CEO of The Corcoran Group.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop buying Starbucks coffee; I mean, stop spending money on things that are not necessary. It\u2019s tremendous how fast that little nest egg can add up,\u201d Liebman told Fortune.<\/a><\/p>\n

With the median down payment for the third quarter of 2025 at $30,400 (according to Realtor.com) and mortgage interest rates near 6%, some prospective buyers are now considering taking the plunge into buying real estate. <\/p>\n

Liebman emphasized the importance of cutting unnecessary spending to reach your goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at people who are taking an Uber instead of the subway, they\u2019re buying their coffee, they\u2019re buying their breakfast out, they\u2019re spending money on things that are not necessary,\u201d she said. \u201cThese things definitely start adding up. The subway is definitely cheaper than an Uber.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SavingHere, a for sale sign stands outside a single-family residence on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in south Denver, Colorado. A real estate expert advises young buyers to be frugal in order to be able to afford to afford a home. AP<\/p>\n

But how long does one need to save? Saving for the median down payment may seem daunting, but the timeline depends on income, spending habits and local market conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long it takes to save for a down payment depends heavily on income, spending, and local market conditions,\u201d said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com. \u201cWhile small daily savings may not make a huge difference in today\u2019s housing market, bigger moves \u2014 like sharing housing, moving in with family, or increasing income \u2014 can accelerate progress.”<\/p>\n

Rent across the 50 largest metropolitan areas currently averages $1,703, slightly lower than in previous years, making it possible for some to save more aggressively.<\/p>\n

Jessica Vance, a real estate agent in San Diego, noted that small sacrifices can add up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose that are good stewards of money are not wasteful and do pay attention to the details with the long-term goal (down payment) in mind,\u201d Vance said. She added that location plays a major role in determining affordability.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Gen Z really wants to purchase a home, perhaps they get an FHA loan, which asks for 3.5% down, and live in an affordable city to start. That would be the quickest path to homeownership,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n

With the national median list price at $425,000, some metropolitan areas still offer homes under $300,000 \u2014 an entry point for first-time buyers to build equity. <\/p>\n

Inventory levels aren\u2019t the issue \u2014 there are more than 1 million homes for sale \u2014 but available options vary by region. <\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is your latte habit holding you back on your journey to homeownership? A financial expert says yes, according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[64,63,99,186,184,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-257391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-personal-finance","13":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}