Two years after buying her first home at age 62, Julieta Lopez still wells up with tears as she recounts her 30-year struggle for homeownership in Boston.
“I can’t believe… I wake up, I’m like, ‘this is mine. I did it. I finally did it,’” she says, her voice breaking with emotion. “These are happy tears because I did it.”
That emotional milestone marks the end of a journey that required overcoming major personal setbacks and a housing market that increasingly puts the American dream out of reach for many first-time buyers.
“It’s taken me 30 years. I’ve gone through illness, financial woes, but it was worth it,” Lopez says. “Get you a piece of the pie. Build your generational wealth. Be your own landlord.”
Now almost 64, Lopez secured her home by tapping into resources for first-time homebuyers. “I was able to buy it through my savings, a program through the city of Boston and a few other first-time home-buying programs,” she explains.
The financial benefits are clear. “My mortgage is $2,100 a month,” Lopez says. “My rent was $2,600 and it was going to go up to $2,900.”
Brian McCabe is a professor of sociology who also teaches a course titled “Understanding Affordable Housing Policy” at Georgetown University. He confirms the growing challenges facing those aspiring to become first-time homeowners.
“Homeownership remains really central to the American dream,” he says. “It’s one of the few issues where everybody, almost everybody agrees–people want to own their own homes.”
McCabe, however, notes a troubling trend: “Those that already have wealth, often already have family or generational wealth, are able to use that to enter the housing market. And so we’re seeing inequality probably deepening over the long term when people aren’t able to enter into homeownership.”
For Lopez, homeownership represents more than financial savings. “It makes me feel empowered,” she says. “It made me feel like I got a part of the American dream.”
This article was provided by The Associated Press.
[Julieta Lopez unloading her dishwasher]
[Lopez unloading her dishwasher]
Julieta Lopez (interview): “It’s taken me 30 years. I’ve gone through illness, financial woes, but it was worth it. Get you a piece of the pie. Build your generational wealth. Be your own landlord.”
[Lopez’s condo]
Julieta Lopez (interview): “I’m almost 64 years old. I’ve been living in my first time home for about two years. I was able to buy it through my savings, a program through the city of Boston and a few other first-time home-buying programs.”
Julieta Lopez (interview): “You have companies buying houses. You have outside entities buying houses. You have people that are buying houses that have more disposable resources than you. So, you have to have programs to help the average person get a house.”
[Real estate for sale signage]
[House for sale]
Brian McCabe (interview): “Homeownership remains really central to the American dream. It’s one of the few issues where everybody, almost everybody agrees, right? People want to own their own homes.”
[Real estate for sale signage]
Brian McCabe (interview): “Because the obstacles are pretty high, the dream may be unfulfilled for many people that want to buy a home.”
[Lopez in her living room]
Julieta Lopez (interview): “The housing market is very difficult for first time home buyers. It’s low stock, high prices and the prices keep going up. So, you have to make sure that you … it’s almost like going to war.”
[Lopez watching television in her living room]
[A quote from the “Wizard of Oz” movie painted on Lopez’s wall]
Julieta Lopez (interview): “I can’t believe … I wake up, I’m, like, ‘this is mine. I did it. I finally did it.’ And these are happy tears because I did it.”
Doorbell to Lopez’s condo
Julieta Lopez (interview): “My mortgage is $2,100 a month. My rent was $2,600 and it was going to go up to $2,900.”
Condo’s front doors
Julieta Lopez (interview): “It makes me feel empowered. It made me feel like I got a part of the American dream.”
[A construction crew preparing install asphalt shingles on a house under construction]
Brian McCabe (interview): “Those that already have wealth, often already have family or generational wealth, are able to use that to enter the housing market. And so we’re seeing sort of inequality probably deepening over the long term when people aren’t able to enter into homeownership.”
[Lopez’s hand as she waters plants in her living room]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.