The real estate market has become difficult for young people to navigate. With rising property prices and plateauing wages not keeping up with inflation, it has become harder for young people to get a foot on the ladder. However, there are some ways around this.

Biggest Challenges

There are a few significant challenges that young people face when entering the housing market; three of the main ones are house prices, lender restrictions, and availability.

Price

Whatever property you’re looking for — whether you’re looking to buy an apartment in New York, a house in the Los Angeles suburbs, or are searching for rooms for rent Seattle — you will often find that prices can be out of your budget. Housing prices have increased so drastically that many employed young people earning average to above-average salaries simply can’t afford them.

Lender Restrictions

No matter where you are, many lender restrictions will often stop you from entering the market. While some will need a 10% deposit, for example, they also won’t lend more than 4.5 times your salary in some cases. This is not enough for many people, even if they can afford the deposit.

Availability

Another reasonably common challenge is availability. Depending on where you live, you may find yourself just not having access to enough properties. This also applies to people who live in rural and popular areas, as rural areas don’t have enough houses, while property in popular areas gets swooped up quickly.

How To Get Into Real Estate

If you have the funds and want to get into real estate, there are a few ways to start your journey and start making money from your property almost instantly.

House Hacking

The first option is widespread among many homeowners: house hacking. This term describes purchasing a multi-room property and renting out the spare rooms you don’t need. This is widespread in university towns and cities, as new students are constantly looking for accommodation.

You can take this further if you have a large property with lots of land by building a small one-bedroom cottage on the plot. House hacking aims to use the rent you get from your tenants to pay off your mortgage.

Flipping

Many TV shows have popularized house flipping over the past few years, and it has proven to be a profitable venture. Flipping is relatively simple; you purchase a house or apartment that needs work done at a low price, then invest in the property and get it ready for sale.

This is partially area-dependent, but there are many examples of flipping being more cost-effective than buying an already done-up house, leaving you with more profit when it comes time to sell, making it easier to buy another property.

Buy & Hold

The buy & hold strategy is used mainly for commercial property investors, but it can also be used for family homes. The idea is easy enough to understand; you buy a property or some land and then wait for its value to increase.

This is part of flipping, but you eliminate the risk of over-investing and not having the property sell quickly enough. It does take more research, as you need to understand the value trends of the area you are buying in, but it can be very profitable if you make the right decisions.

Renting

Renting out your property and becoming a landlord can be a scary step up, as it requires you to have at least two properties at once, but it can be a solid strategy to start your portfolio. Essentially, you purchase a property and rent it to an individual or family.

This is typically done in combination with renting a property for you to live in, but the amount you charge the tenant is enough to cover your rent and wholly or partially pay the mortgage of your second property.

You can either sell the second property or keep it as a rental, using your profits to fund another home and repeating the process. This strategy works well because you will have multiple sources of income to pay for homes and build a substantial property portfolio.

REIT Investing

Another way to enter the real estate market is not to buy real estate at all. REIT investing allows you to invest in property by buying shares; as the property's value increases, so do your shares.

This is similar to buying stocks, as REIT businesses purchase and own income-producing properties, but there is less risk as you don’t have to take on the burden of purchasing and managing the right property. It’s also great if you don’t live in an area with opportunities; you can live in Arizona and easily purchase a part of a property in Washington or Wisconsin.

Conclusion

While the property market may seem like a difficult mountain to climb, once you understand your challenges and options, that journey is far less daunting. With these tips and thorough research, you could be well on your way to creating a property empire.