The journey to homeownership is often long and exhausting, a path fewer young New Yorkers are taking today. Driven by sky-high prices and rising costs, many are choosing to rent or move back home.

But not 20-year-old Kristopher Constable.

“Overall, I think it was a really good investment and everything. I’m really excited to move in,” said Constable as he stood outside his new home.

Constable decided against college and jumped right into the workforce after high school.

“When I was looking at college, I was like ‘I don’t know what I would do that I would want to go to school for four years for,’ ” he said.

He works for the state Board of Elections and saves his paycheck whenever he can. He wanted to move out of his parents’ home, but didn’t want to rent.

“I usually like to own as much as I can,” Constable said.

Some realtors say that is a smart move, especially at such a young age.

“The check that you wrote last month, you put equity into that individual’s pocket and made that individual richer. Yes, it’s scary, but the next check that you write, you’re going to be putting equity into your own pocket and making yourself wealthier at the end of the day,” said Colin McDonald of McDonald Real Estate Company.

But buying a house as a young person now is not as common as it used to be. More than 40% of baby boomers by age 27 owned a home, compared to more than 32% for Gen Z at that age.

Housing isn’t the only thing that’s risen since the baby boomer generation. Tuition fees have skyrocketed, with public four-year tuition increasing from under $800 in 1980 to more than $27,000 in 2025, according to NASDAQ.

While costs have soared, wage growth has not kept pace. Between 2000 and 2020, inflation-adjusted home prices rose 65%, while real median household income barely increased, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

“Young people are living different lifestyles these days. They’re not necessarily jumping into getting married and having kids right away,” McDonald said.

Another cause for this decline is the rise in home prices. In 2024, the residential median sale price of a home in upstate New York was more than $330,000, almost $100,000 more compared to pre-pandemic.

“I wish I could say I work with a ton of young people, but unfortunately, I do not, and it comes down to the simple fact they just can’t afford it,” McDonald said.

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, though, reveals a 1.6% increase from 2024 to 2025 in homeownership by young adults like Constable.

“I want to retire as early as I can, so I’ve been investing in stocks ever since I could. Ever since I had money,” he said.