Aline Mendelsohn, Sentinel Staff Writer
In cities across the nation, rising home prices are making it increasingly difficult for young people to join the ranks of homeowners.
It's tough for anyone, particularly younger hopefuls with limited resources, to keep up with prices that grow much faster than the average paycheck.
This is particularly true when prices are as volatile as they are in Orlando, where records have been set almost monthly -- the median topped $225,000 in May, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. A year earlier, it was $169,000.
Soaring costs are one reason first-time buyers are waiting longer to purchase homes. From 1995 to 2003, the median age of first-time homeowners nationally increased from 29 to 31, according to the latest data from the National Association of Home Builders.
So some young would-be buyers find themselves struggling to own a home.
This month, Yarely Marrero and her son plan to move into an east Orlando condo -- on their own for the first time.
Marrero, 23, found a condo for $125,000.
"I was just lucky," said Marrero, who works for a home-health agency.
Across town, apartment dweller Collin Thomas, 25, dreams of buying his own place but hasn't come up with the cash to get into pricey areas such as Waterford Lakes.
"It would mean the world," says Thomas, a manager at Chase Bank in Lake Mary. "It's something you look forward to growing up, saying you're a proud homeowner."
The American dream
Homeownership has always been part of the American dream.
The idea of owning land was a fundamental aspect of the country's foundation, said Raphael Bostic, an economist and director of the real-estate development program at the University of Southern California.
Rising prices is only one reason the median age is rising. Adults are staying in school longer and delaying marriage and children, Bostic said.
At the same time, many prospective owners aren't waiting for kids or marriage.
Homeownership is seen as a key to "controlling your own destiny and having your own castle," Bostic said.
For the individual, homeownership is often a personal goal.
Aurela Sicard, a treasury analyst at Tandem Health Care, set a goal of buying a house by her 30th birthday. In April, after nearly a year of failed offers, Sicard purchased a home in Oviedo.
Sicard not only hit her target -- she turns 30 this month -- but she is also ahead of many of her peers.
For Alex Paradiz, 26, homeownership is a natural step in his life.
"You graduate, you get a job, you get a home," said Paradiz, an Orlando engineer who bought his house in September. ". . . I have a sense of accomplishment. It's a reflection of who you are."
Of course, a house is more than a source of pride. It's also a source of equity.
"It's the largest personal expenditure most of us ever make," said Lois Vitt, a financial sociologist and director of the Institute for Socio-Financial Studies in Virginia. ". . . It anchors our entire financial future."
Many twenty-somethings are seeing the value.
Last year, Heather Patterson bought a Winter Park home for $128,000. It's now worth about $190,000.
Already, Patterson, a 24-year-old engineer, has her eyes on something else.
"I've been thinking about buying another as an investment," she said.
Leslie Marrero, Yarely Marrero's cousin, is only 20 but pines for a house.
Leslie Marrero, who works in customer service for Sprint, started looking last year but was limited by her income. She has since resumed her search and is looking into foreclosed houses.
"If you rent, basically you're throwing that money away that you could be spending on your own house," said Leslie Marrero, who pays $700-a-month rent for an apartment near the airport.
Ellie Gagaoudakis and her boyfriend also were searching for a house this year.
But Gagaoudakis, a kindergarten teacher at English Estates Elementary School in Fern Park, found that homes near work were too expensive. A typical mortgage would consume half of her monthly income.
Discouraged, they have decided to continue saving, while remaining in their apartment.
"You're starting from scratch, and it's very competitive," Gagaoudakis said.
Of course, not everyone is yearning to own, particularly those who do not see themselves settling in Orlando.
Kimberly Kruse, 24, rents a $900 apartment at the Grande on South Street. A doctoral student at Argosy University in Tampa, Kruse plans to take an internship somewhere in the country when her program ends.
"For me, it [renting] makes sense because I don't know where I'm going to be next," Kruse said.
Plus, her apartment offers appliances, such as a washer and dryer, which she would have had to buy if she bought a home.
A symbol of freedom
Less disposable income is one irritation a lot of new homeowners face.
"I've gone from shopping for shoes on the weekend to shopping for fertilizer for the lawn," said Sicard, the Oviedo homeowner.
But it's worth it, she said. Sicard no longer hears other tenants walking around in the apartment above her. Her kids enjoy having friends over.
"It's a place of my own," Sicard said.
Thomas, the Orlando apartment renter, knows what a difference a house can make.
For most of his life, Thomas lived in rented condos, apartments or town houses. But when he turned 18, his parents bought a house.
"For my mother it was a miracle, a blessing, something she always wanted to do," he said.
For Thomas, it was a symbol of freedom. He could have a pet without his parents paying extra rent. He could jump into the family pool. He even enjoyed such chores as mowing the lawn.
Thomas looks forward to mowing his own lawn one day.