WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — As the price of owning a home continues to climb, there are two groups getting squeezed out of the American Dream.
Millennials and Gen Z adults are moving back home with their parents, hoping to weather the storm of inflated home prices and stagnant wages. The goal is to save up for a day when their dream is affordable again.
Realtor Whitney Lohr with Berkshire Hathaway proudly walked us through her most recent listing. It was perfect for first-time homebuyers just 5 years ago when it was brand new in 2019.
"This house was purchased in 2019 for $259,000," Lohr said of the 4 bed, 2 bath home in Wesley Chapel's Union Park neighborhood.
Fast forward 60 months later, Lohr listed the home for her sellers at $475,000.
"This just isn't a typical starter home anymore. Not at this price," the realtor with 10 years of experience under her belt said.
It's a continual problem that has shut out Millennials and Gen Z buyers for years.
The housing market flipped upside down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Dream is now a dream deferred.
According to Intuit Credit Karma, the market is forcing one-third of Gen Z adults to move back in with their parents until housing becomes affordable again.
"I think the level of frustration with these generations of being able to obtain home ownership is they just don't see it," Lohr added.
She and her husband were empty nesters until their college-aged son moved back home a couple of months ago so he could save up for renting an apartment. A recent Bankrate study found most Millennials want to own a home, but three-quarters said affordability is the biggest obstacle right now.
That was the story of Xavier Torres and his wife and four kids. All six of them are currently living with his in-laws.
In that time, they saved up for nearly 2 years. Now they are days away from closing on their brand-new DR Horton home in Spring Hill.
But it took some struggle and patience.
"I was actually looking for homes in Tampa, but the pricing was just way too crazy over there," the hard-working 34-year-old said.
The same floor plan and model in Wesley Chapel that Whitney Lohr is selling priced at $475,000, she was able to get for nearly $350,000 for Xavier and his family just 30 minutes north.
Moving away from downtown city centers is just one of the creative ways Lohr told me realtors must come up with these days to make a buyer's dream a reality in a tough housing market.
Better deals tend to be found the further out buyers go.
"That's why we're becoming creative with the market we're in right now," Lohr said. "Now is the time we can ask sellers, 'Hey can you help pay my closing cost so they can still have cash in the bank when they move in? Or can you pay my interest rates?' We're getting really creative in what we're able to do."
That's exactly what Torres was able to do. Buying a newly constructed home, he received help with his closing costs and a reduced mortgage rate from DR Horton.
"The dream all along was just getting a home for my family and my kids and just to see them playing in the backyard, having their own rooms and their space to do what they love. That's what brings joy into my life," Torres said as he looked out over his soon-to-be backyard.