DEAR IDA: My husband and I both work full time, but between rent and childcare we feel like we’re running in place. Our landlord just announced another increase, and moving doesn’t seem cheaper—every listing in our area is sky-high, and buying a home feels completely out of reach. We’ve started talking about delaying having a second child, or even leaving our community altogether, just so we’re not choosing every month between groceries, gas, and the light bill. Is this just what “normal” looks like now, or are we missing something? – PRICED OUT OF OUR OWN LIFE
DEAR PRICED OUT OF OUR OWN LIFE: The short and brutal answer is that unaffordability is the new normal. According to an article in Forbes.com, the median home price in the U.S. in 2025 was $462,206. Once you figure in interest rates, HOA fees, and insurance costs, home ownership seems like the unachievable American dream, especially when you consider that the federal government is floating the idea of a 50-year mortgage and the average age of first-time home buyers is now 40.
All hope is not lost, but it will likely require that you move outside of your current community. In general, the farther away you live from a municipality, the cheaper housing and land becomes. The tradeoff, of course, is longer commutes and little to no entertainment or cultural choices. Cell phone coverage and Internet availability could also be problematic. Bonuses of rural life are, among other things, cleaner air, communing with nature, no traffic jams, and actually being able to see the stars at night. Explore the option of purchasing land and living in a travel trailer while you build up the funds needed for a down payment. You can use some of the money that you would normally put towards rent for the payments on the travel trailer and land. Once the land and travel trailer are paid for, you will be able to dedicate more of your free cashflow to building your home. Once your home construction is completed, you can sell the travel trailer and put any funds you recoup towards your home mortgage.
You may also need to create a new vision of what your dream home looks like. Explore your options of purchasing a modular or kit home. The website latestcost.com published a Practical Price Guide for 2026 comparing the average costs of modular home construction costs versus those of building a traditional home. By choosing a modular home, you could save a significant amount of money and be in your home much sooner. Kit homes are becoming more popular and provide unlimited options on floorplans and interior design. The beauty of a kit home is that you can build it at your own pace.
If transitioning to rural living isn’t appealing to you, consider investing in a duplex and living on one side while renting out the other. By being an occupant owner of the duplex, you can apply for an FHA loan, or a VA loan if you are a veteran. There are downsides to being a landlord, especially when your tenant is your next door neighbor so you should do your homework before choosing this option.
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