While the current housing market can be discouraging for many buyers, for first-time buyers, the obstacles of high prices and low supply may seem insurmountable.

According to the National Association of Realtors, first-time buyers made up just under a quarter of all buyers in 2024, the smallest share since the NAR began collecting the data in 1981.

And yet, despite these barriers, those first-timers are out there. Among them is Nyeisha Brooks, a first-time buyer in Denver, Colorado. She and her family of 10 closed on their home in 2023.

“We were on Section 8, and we had given ourselves five years to be on Section 8 because we had been renters for our entire adult lives,” said Brooks. “We just said, for the amount of money that we're paying, the market price really isn't that much more off than what we're currently paying for rent. Why not invest in ourselves?”

Use the player above to hear more of the family’s story.