NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville resident Divya Reddy is on the search for her first home. "The biggest challenge is in general how everything is so pricey right now," she said.
Reddy hopes to trade a life of renting for one of homeownership.
"The rental, the amount that you're putting in over there, might as well be my mortgage and like I could be owning something by paying the same amount," said Reddy.
But for many first-time homebuyers that is easier said than done. Nationally, the number of first-time homebuyers are down.
"I think it's a double-edged sword," said realtor Amanda Peterson with The Ashton Real Estate Group of RE/MAX Advantage. "I do think it's very difficult for people renting."
New data shows the average Nashville renter is only making about half the needed income to afford a starter home.
"I think it's hard right now for them to do anything because rent rates are rising, and then housing prices rose, and then we also have gas prices have risen so they're like 'well I could afford more house but I can't afford to buy eggs'," said Peterson.
But unlike two years ago when the market was at its hottest, realtor Peterson said first-time homebuyers now stand a better chance.
"Now things are negotiable," said Peterson. "So people who are first time homebuyers, while their interest rate is higher, their down payment is often lower because they're not having to come in over appraisal with extra cash to buy it."
And she says the notion of 20% down is a thing of the past thanks to first-time homebuyer programs - something Reddy hopes will help her in the future. "Just, I don't know, just like being in a nice house, chilling at a porch, have your cup of coffee," she said.
