As housing prices keep homeownership out of reach for many Americans, here’s how some are making it work

Now, she runs her own business, Steel Development, which renovates and sells homes to lower-income buyers.

“We have that power and that community union that it takes to uplift and revitalize an entire system,” she told 6abc Philadelphia.

Even if you don’t have Bass-Davis pitching in to revamp your city, there are other paths to affordable housing and investing in real estate.

Co-buying with family or friends

Bass-Davis’s business model banks on the community to make housing more affordable. Consider researching similar avenues that you may be able to access within your own community.

The Federal Reserve’s latest numbers show that the median sales price of a home is $410,800.

If you plan to put a 20% down payment on a home — the traditional amount — then you’d need to have more than $80,000 on hand.

A survey by JW Surety Bonds found that 13% of Americans recently purchased a home with a non-romantic partner, such as a sibling, friend, or parent, as 25% of those buyers couldn't afford a home on their own.

More real estate alternatives

Crowdfunding real estate: like co-buying, but for investors

Crowdfunding and co-buying share similarities for investors, as both involve pooling resources to acquire property or assets that might be out of reach individually.

First National Realty Partners (FNRP) leverages this collaborative approach, allowing accredited investors to invest in institutional quality necessity-backed real estate. The private equity firm has partnered with some of the largest retail and grocery chains in the country, such as Walmart, Whole Foods, Kroger, and CVS.

The team offers “white glove” investing services, providing insights into the best properties both on and off-market. FNRP acts as the deal leader, providing expertise, doing the legwork and streamlining the process, while investors can passively collect distribution income.

FNRP’s secure online platform makes investing in commercial real estate convenient and simple. You can engage with experts, explore available deals and easily make an allocation, all in one personalized portal.

For accredited investors, Homeshares gives access to the $36 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors.

With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.

With risk-adjusted target returns ranging from 14% to 17%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets.

A market alternative

If you’re wary of co-buying a home with friends or family, alternative real estate investments offer a low-cost entry into the housing market.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are beginner-friendly investments that generate passive income, are bought and sold just like stocks, and don’t require large amounts of money to invest. They also allow you to diversify your portfolio across property types and geographic locations.

There are loads of REITs out there across dozens of industries, which is great for your diversification, but might make it a little harder to pick names for your portfolio. Companies like Moby are built for providing that kind of guidance.