Los Angeles has always been a story of new beginnings. From families arriving with dreams of stability to children of immigrants building new legacies, the housing market in LA County reflects the resilience and diversity of its people. Among the many forces shaping today’s real estate market, first-generation homebuyers are emerging as a powerful group. These are families who are the first in their household to buy a home. For them, the purchase of a home is more than just a transaction. It is the achievement of stability, pride, and the foundation of generational wealth.
A first-generation buyer is typically someone whose parents or family never owned property, often growing up in rental housing or in immigrant households where homeownership was not possible. In LA County, with its large Latino and Black populations, many of today’s first-time buyers are also first-generation. This makes their presence especially significant in a county where overall homeownership rates are low compared to the rest of the country: just 47.9% in LA County, and only 36.3% within the City of Los Angeles. The average home price here hovers near $880,000, a number that makes affordability one of the biggest hurdles for families entering the market for the first time.
Despite these challenges, first-generation buyers are steadily shaping the buyer pool. Millennials, now between the ages of 26 and 41, represent about 32% of all buyers in LA, showing that this generation is motivated to purchase despite high costs. Nationally, the median age of first-time buyers has climbed to 38 years old, the highest on record, showing how long many households are delaying the dream of ownership. For younger adults aged 24 to 32, about 70% are first-time buyers, though affordability remains a major barrier. In California, only 18% of households earn enough to afford the median-priced detached home. Breaking this down further, just 9% of Hispanic and Latino households and 10% of Black households can afford it, compared to 21% of white households. These disparities highlight the uphill battle minority families face, even as they make up a large share of first-generation buyers entering the market.
Still, their determination is clear. Latino households now make up nearly half of LA County’s population, yet their homeownership rate lags more than 20 percentage points behind white households. Black households face similar gaps as well. Many of the families closing these gaps are first-generation buyers who are writing a new story of ownership for the first time in their family line. Programs like California’s Dream For All have shown just how strong this demand is. When the state first launched the program offering up to 20% toward a down payment for first-generation buyers, its $300 million in funding was claimed in only eleven days. In its second phase, more than 18,000 hopeful applicants entered a preregistration lottery, and about 1,700 families were awarded vouchers. The overwhelming response proved how many first-generation buyers are eager but simply need a leg up. Now, the program is set to return with renewed funding for 2025–26, this time with refinements to focus on equity and fairness. While the application window is not open yet, its reintroduction is a promising sign that the state is recognizing and investing in the very buyers who have historically been left behind.
What makes first-generation buyers unique is not only their financial determination but also the way they purchase homes close to the communities where they grew up. By staying rooted in familiar neighborhoods, they invest not only in property but in their cultural identity, creating pride of ownership that strengthens entire communities. They may face competition from investors and repeat buyers with more cash on hand, but their persistence is reshaping LA County’s housing landscape in quiet, powerful ways.
As a first-generation Latina, this story is deeply personal to me. Both of my parents are from Michoacán, Mexico. They grew up surrounded by dirt roads and lived in small adobe houses, homes built from earth and clay that carried generations but offered little stability. Homeownership in the United States was something they could not imagine for themselves, but they dreamed it for their children. When I think about what it means to buy a home here, I see the weight of their sacrifices. Owning property is not just about where I live or what I own - it's about honoring their journey, about creating something stable and lasting that they never had the chance to build. For first-generation families like mine, every set of keys is more than just access to a front door. It is proof that a family’s story can change within a single generation. It is resilience made visible, a legacy built from the ground up, and a foundation that future children and grandchildren will be able to stand on proudly. With programs like Dream For All returning, more families who share stories like mine will have a chance to open those doors. The impact will ripple far beyond the walls of any single home, shaping neighborhoods, strengthening communities, and ensuring that the dream of homeownership is within reach for those determined to be the first to claim it.
References:
National Association of Realtors. Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Highlights. 2023.
Urban Institute. First-Generation Homebuyers Face Significant Obstacles to Homeownership. 2022.
Terner Center for Housing Innovation, UC Berkeley. The Homeownership Ladder: Trends in California. 2023.
California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA). Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan Program Reports. 2023–2025.
Journal First Tuesday. Los Angeles Housing Indicators. 2025.
National Mortgage Professional. Homeownership Slips Further Away for Californians. 2024.
Axios. New Mortgage Offers in California Are Going to First-Time Buyers. 2024.
