Corcoran's CEO advised young people to cut back on spending to save for their first home
Pamela Libman, CEO of The Corcoran Group, believes that Generation Z and younger millennials have to make compromises when buying their first home, just as previous generations did. Among her savings tips, she mentioned cutting back on non-essential daily expenses—such as Starbucks coffee, Uber rides instead of the subway, eating breakfast out, and frequent entertainment expenses with friends, according to Fortune.
Libman has worked at The Corcoran Group since 1984, when she began her career as a real estate agent at the age of 23. According to her, buying a first apartment in New York was just as difficult about 30 years ago. Back then, the choice of neighborhoods where people were willing to live was more limited: the Mitpeking District, and parts of Brooklyn and Tribeca that are popular today, did not yet have their current status.
According to the company’s CEO, buyers and renters now have more location options, although finding a good rental or an affordable first apartment is still no easy task. She advised against focusing on the “perfect” neighborhood. For example, she estimates that an apartment on the Upper East Side could cost significantly less than one in the West Village or popular neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
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Libman also expects that as interest rates fall, more properties may come onto the market. In her view, this could happen because of owners who previously didn’t want to give up a 3% mortgage in favor of a new loan at 7%. At the same time, lower rates could also bring buyers to the market who had been postponing their home purchases, so she does not foresee a rapid drop in prices.
As one way to save money, Libman mentioned “dinner clubs”—gatherings where young people take turns cooking for each other at home. She also advised against trying to rent the perfect place right away: living with roommates and in a more modest apartment for one or two years can give you time to save up for your next move.
