Home Buying In Major Cities: Millennial Women Share Their Experiences

According to a 2022 report from the National Association of Realtors, 50% of millennials in the United States are homeowners and a 2023 report shows them making up the largest share of homebuyers. However, a smaller percentage of millennials than previous generations become homeowners by the age of 30 due to rising house costs and interest rates, and these numbers do not even separate higher cost housing markets.

One such market is Boston, Massachusetts, where the median home price is $775k and the housing inventory has shrunk significantly between 2020 and 2024. Despite challenging market conditions, Cassidy Minch and Becky Doucette-Long managed to carve out paths to home ownership in the Boston area.

Cassidy and her husband, Ryan, had been planning to buy a house for three years before they entered the market.  The couple had been happy with their apartment and their landlord until COVID-19 hit in March of 2020 and both were working at home full time. Fortunately, Ryan’s financial planning skills kickstarted the pre-approval process.   

“He had known for awhile that if we owned a home, he wanted to put 5% down, and he had pre-planned all of that well before finding a home,” Cassidy said.

The low interest rates at that time also played a role in their decision to buy a home. To this day, they still feel fortunate that they locked in their interest rate at below 3% the night before the rates rose.

“We know that’s one of the reasons why we could afford our home either way,” she said.

The process still had its bumps, she said. The couple was originally in contract to purchase another condo, but they pulled out when their move-in date continued to be delayed due to renovations. Cassidy said she is thankful for the broker she used because she felt he was looking out for their best interests.

“It was nice to know that his priority was just buying rather than a realtor who would be making a commission on both sides,” she said.

Becky and her husband Jack were not even planning to buy around Boston and had set their sights on Vermont.

“Early on in our relationship we realized that if we want to be homeowners, there’s just no way we can afford this area,” Becky said.

The couple had a big decision to make when her grandmother could no longer afford her home.

“The options were either sell this house, which she owned for 40 or 50 years, or we move in,” she said.

Becky and her husband took over the deed of the house while splitting the mortgage three ways with her grandmother. Fortunately, they refinanced in February 2022 while interest rates remained below 4%.

Although they did not pay a down payment or realtor costs, renovating and maintaining the house still proved to be costly.  

“We used all of our money, but it was absolutely necessary to make this house be a living space for three adults and possibly any children in the future,” she said. “We are trying to figure out how to make this Frankenstein house work.”

While taking on home ownership and caring for an aging relative is difficult, preserving her family legacy is important to her.

“Every time I think of selling this house, it brings so much sadness,” she said. “My family has done all of the work in the house for decades. I’m currently living in the room my dad used to live in.”

Housing prices won’t lower significantly in the coming year, which means that buyers might have to find other creative solutions such as multiple generations pooling their money together.

However, with federal interest rates predicted to go down and housing stock going up, there is some hope for future home buyers.