{"id":6703,"date":"2026-10-05T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/05\/two-moves-that-can-get-you-into-your-first-home-sooner\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T10:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T10:30:00","slug":"two-moves-that-can-get-you-into-your-first-home-sooner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/05\/two-moves-that-can-get-you-into-your-first-home-sooner\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Moves That Can Get You Into Your First Home Sooner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Two\n

For a lot of first-time buyers, owning a home can feel perpetually a few years out of reach. Saving for a down payment takes time, and each year you spend renting<\/u><\/a> can make owning feel further off.<\/p>\n

But buying your first home doesn\u2019t have to happen to feel like a far away goal. Two choices you control can bring your first home years closer, even with affordability<\/u><\/a> as tight as it is right now.<\/p>\n

How Long Buying Really Takes<\/strong><\/h4>\n

First, one quick definition. \u201cBreaking even\u201d is the point where owning has cost you about the same as renting would have over the same period. And after that point, owning starts to cost less than renting. Kara Ng, Senior Economist at Zillow<\/em>, puts it this way:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBuyers should think about not just when they can afford to buy, but how long they\u2019d need to stay before owning makes more financial sense than renting.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So how long does reaching that point usually take? And what are the shortcuts? Let\u2019s do the math.<\/p>\n

According to Zillow<\/em>, it usually takes about 8.5 years to save for a 20% down payment, then roughly 6.2 more years before owning costs the same as renting. Together, that\u2019s just under 15 years. But that math relies on two assumptions: that you\u2019re buying a mid-priced home, and that you\u2019re putting 20% down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Change either one and your timeline gets shorter. Change both and it can shrink fast. <\/strong>It also varies widely by market, since local prices and rents are different depending on where you live.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Starter Home Can Get You There Twice as Fast<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A starter home<\/strong> usually means a home in the lower third of local prices. They\u2019re often condos<\/u><\/a>, townhomes, or single-family homes a little smaller or older than others in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Choosing one over a mid-priced home can cut your wait down by a lot. And while that might sound obvious, you may not realize just how much it shortens your timeline. Because if you\u2019re buying a more affordable home, you don\u2019t have to save up as much or as long.<\/p>\n

Zillow<\/em> found that nationwide, a starter home takes half the time \u2013 about 7.2 years \u2013 to save for and come out ahead on, compared with renting (see graph below<\/em>):<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

That works out to about 4.6 years to save and 2.6 years to break even. It won\u2019t erase every affordability challenge, but it can take years off the wait. And if you\u2019ve already been saving for a while, it could get you closer to making it a reality.<\/p>\n

You Usually Don\u2019t Need To Put 20% Down<\/strong><\/h4>\n

You, like many first-time homebuyers, might assume you need a 20% down payment<\/u><\/a> to even consider buying. But a lot of the time, you don\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most first-time buyers don\u2019t put down anywhere near that. The National Association of Realtors<\/em> shows the median down payment for first-time buyers is 10%<\/u><\/a> (see graph below<\/em>):<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

And the minimums go lower still. Some buyers put down as little as 3% on a conventional loan or 3.5% on an FHA loan, and eligible veterans or buyers in certain rural areas can put down nothing at all.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s help with the upfront costs of buying, too. Down Payment Resource<\/em> counts 2,746<\/u><\/a> assistance programs nationwide, and some are even stackable:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSome homebuyers can layer multiple sources of assistance to reduce their upfront costs. Layering means combining more than one eligible source of funding as part of your home purchase<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Put those together \u2013 a lower price point, a smaller down payment, and help covering it \u2013 and the years you thought you needed start to come down.<\/p>\n

Bottom Line<\/h3>\n

Your first home may not be as far off as it feels. When the numbers make sense for you, buying a starter home and putting down less than 20% can get you there years sooner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Want to see which starter homes in your area could fit your budget? A local real estate agent can show you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For a lot of first-time buyers, owning a home can feel perpetually a few years out of reach. Saving for a down payment takes time, and each year you spend renting can make owning feel further off. But buying your first home doesn\u2019t have to happen to feel like a far away goal. Two choices […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6704,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[29,27,20,18,28],"class_list":["post-6703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-insight","tag-idaho-real-estate","tag-north-idaho-homes","tag-rain-silverhawk","tag-real-estate","tag-sandpoint-idaho"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t