Jul 9, 2026
With mortgages remaining at stubbornly high rates, and house prices only cooling somewhat since pandemic highs, many Americans likely still feel that owning a home is out of reach.
For younger generations, global economic events and high student debt, on top of a hot housing market, have made homeownership even more challenging.
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However, Gen Zs and millennials are finally breaking into the housing market, although at a slow pace, and they’re less likely to own their homes compared to their parents’ generations, according to an analysis by Redfin.
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Younger Americans hoping to own a home might consider taking a page from one Washington state couple, who decided to build their own home to keep their mortgage affordable.
DIY dream
Maddy, 27, and Drew Olson, 28, told Business Insider about their dreams of being homeowners, and their goal of having a monthly mortgage under $1,000 a month.
The couple, who got married in 2019 and live in Washington state, made their dream a reality by saving their money to buy a plot of land, so they could build their own home. They bought their property in January 2025, for $156,000, and completed their build in nine months, they told Business Insider.
The budget for their build was $209,000, which they took out a loan for. They kept their costs down by putting in “sweat equity,” doing as much as they could on their own, they told Business Insider.
With a spend of $365,000, the Olsons come in well below the 2026 median listing price for the state, which currently sits at $649,950.
While they would have liked to buy a bigger piece of land, the size kept them on track with their budget.
“We really couldn’t overspend if we wanted to,” Maddy Olson told Business Insider.
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Pitfalls to avoid
If you don’t have much construction know-how, but you want to make the leap into DIY homebuilding, it’s not impossible. But there are some steps you should definitely follow — and some jobs best left to the pros.
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A major advantage that the Olsons had when it came to their plan to build their home was that Drew Olson had some experience in construction.
“It was his first time doing most of the stuff in our house, but he has a general knowledge of how to use most tools,” Maddy Olson told Business Insider. “Most of his family is in home building.”
If you’re not experienced, you will have to factor in the extra time it will take to learn as you go, as well as the cost of any tools you’ll need to purchase — or any mistakes you make. Some cities have tool libraries that you can access (some with membership fees, and others that are free).
Time is another huge factor when it comes to building a home, and finding time to work on your home in-between working your job can be a big stressor. The Olsons had another advantage here, as Drew works for his parents and has a flexible schedule, while Maddy owns her own business. Their parents also helped them with childcare while they worked on their home, they told Business Insider.
One important step the Olsons took was following a builder’s plan. Without a plan that meets building codes, you could end up with a disaster on your hands, both safety- and budget-wise.
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The same goes for using professionals for installing things like HVAC, electrical and plumbing. If your new home doesn’t pass building inspections, you’ll end up spending more to have things redone correctly.
Planning is also important when it comes to design elements in your home. Maddy Olson admitted to Business Insider that she repainted and retiled multiple times when she wasn’t happy with the results.
There’s no shortage of information out there on how to tackle DIY building and design projects — gone are the days when Bob Vila was the only game in town.
Now, there’s a YouTube video to show you how to do any number of jobs, and countless individuals documenting their own journeys building their own homes.
Maddy Olson told Business Insider that their dreams of owning a bigger property are already within reach, since they stuck to their budget. They’re saving their money to buy that next dream property.
“We’re in a really good position now where if we found a lot tomorrow, we would be in a position that we could buy it,” she told Business Insider. “We couldn’t buy it cash, but we could buy it and build a house and be able to rent this out.”
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
