For First-Time Buyers

Buy Before 35.
Multiply Your Wealth.

People who buy their first home before 30 reach 50 with a net worth about 22.5% higher than people who keep renting. Wait until your late 30s and that advantage is cut in half. Find out what waiting would cost you.

Based on Realtor.com 2026 homeownership research.

Calculate What Waiting Costs You How I Help

01 · The problem

29%

of adults 18 to 34 expect to buy a home in the next five years. A decade ago it was 57%.

Fewer young people believe they will ever own

Prices, rates and rent have pushed homeownership further away for a whole generation. First-time buyers are now only 21% of all buyers, about half the historical norm, and the typical first-time buyer is 40 years old.

The biggest obstacle is the down payment. Saving for it can take close to ten years, which turns a plan to buy at 30 into buying at 40.

Sources: Gallup (2026); NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2025.

02 · What owners gained

+89%

growth in the median U.S. home price over the past ten years.

Meanwhile, owners had their best decade in modern history

People who already owned watched their homes grow in value year after year, while paying down a loan with a fixed payment. Today the average homeowner with a mortgage has about $302,000 in equity.

That is why the gap between owners and renters is so wide: the median homeowner has a net worth of $396,200, while the median renter has $10,400.

Sources: HomeServices of America, The Real American Housing Crisis (2026); Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (2022).

03 · The deadline

The advantage of owning has an expiration date

Owning builds wealth in two ways, and both need time: every mortgage payment pays down your loan, and your home's value grows year after year. The earlier you start, the more years both work for you. This is how much more net worth owners had at 50 compared with renters, depending on the age they bought:

Buy by 30
+22.5%
The full advantage. More than 20 years of growth working for you.
Buy at 33–37
+11.2%
Half the advantage. Five to seven years of waiting cut it in two.
Buy at 38–42
+1.5%
Almost nothing left compared with renting.
Buy after 43
0%
No measurable difference by age 50.

Source: Realtor.com 2026 research, as cited by HomeServices of America (2026). These figures describe what happened on average, not a guarantee for any one buyer.

Every year you wait has a price.
Let’s put a number on yours.

Open the Calculator

Interactive Calculator

What Is Waiting Actually Costing You?

Real amortization math with current rates, and every assumption editable. You'll see the number in about ten seconds.

Your honest guess, not your hope
Before taxes
Blank = the price a 28% payment-to-income ratio supports. U.S. median: $408,000 (Mar 2026)
Edit assumptions (optional)

Defaults: 30-year fixed at 7.24% (Freddie Mac, Oct 29, 2026), 4% appreciation (FHFA's long-run average is about 4.2% a year), 10% down (NAR's median for first-time buyers). Change any of them and recalculate.

Wealth lost to waiting

$0

in home equity you won't have at age 50

If you buy at 29
$0
equity at age 50
If you wait until 35
$0
equity at age 50

Rent you'll pay while you wait: $0 over those years — money that builds equity for your landlord, not for you.

Where your target age lands: —

The home you're buying gets more expensive too: —

Extra cash you'll need at closing: —

What your income supports in Miami: —

Compared with the typical buyer: —

Where the numbers come from ↓

Where the numbers come from

  • Mortgage rate: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed, 7.24% on Oct 29, 2026.
  • Age and net worth: Realtor.com 2026 homeownership research, as cited in HomeServices of America, The Real American Housing Crisis (July 2026). These are associations observed in the data, not guarantees.
  • First-time buyer profile: NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2025: median first-time buyer age 40, median down payment 10%.
  • Long-run appreciation: FHFA House Price Index, about 4.2% a year since 1991.
  • Owners vs. renters: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances 2022: median net worth $396,200 for homeowners vs. $10,400 for renters.
  • Miami-Dade prices: MIAMI REALTORS, September 2026: single-family median $692,000, condo median $417,090.
  • Affordability rule: principal and interest at 28% of gross income, plus an estimated 2% of price per year for taxes and insurance (actual Miami-Dade costs vary widely by property).

How I Help

I’m not here to tell you to buy. I’m here to show you where you stand.

Many first-time buyers think they are years away. Some are closer than they believe; others need a clear plan instead of a guess. Either way, you deserve real numbers.

Raquel PalmieriREALTOR® · Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty
  1. 01

    An honest readiness check

    We review your income, debts, savings and credit, and I tell you when you could realistically buy, or what needs to change first. If the answer is “not yet,” I will tell you plainly.

  2. 02

    Programs most buyers never hear about

    You do not need 20% down. FHA loans start at 3.5% down, and Florida has down payment assistance programs. Believing the 20% myth is one of the main reasons people wait years longer than they need to.

  3. 03

    Where your budget works, and what it really costs

    Miami-Dade is many markets in one. I show you the neighborhoods that fit your numbers, and the full monthly cost before you commit: taxes, insurance, HOA fees and, in condos, possible special assessments.

  4. 04

    A plan with dates, in English or Spanish

    If you are not ready today, you leave with a written plan: how much to save, what to fix and when we check in again. By phone, WhatsApp or text, in your language.

Your Personalized Plan

Get your home-buying timeline in writing

Tell me where you are today and I will send you a clear assessment. No cost, no obligation and no pressure to buy.

  • How much home you could qualify for today
  • Which loan and down payment assistance programs could apply to you
  • A realistic month to buy, and the steps to get there

Prefer to talk? Text me at 786.763.4912.

Where do you stand today?

I reply personally, usually within 24 hours.

Your information stays private. No spam, no lists, no sharing.

✔

Got it.

I'll review your numbers and get back to you within 24 hours with a straight answer. If you'd rather talk sooner, text me at 786.763.4912.