Generation Z and young millennials confront the daunting prospect of renting well into the future—or even living with their parents—as entering the property market feels increasingly out of reach. However, Pamela Liebman, CEO of The Corcoran Group, one of New York City's largest and most prominent residential brokerages, who has navigated 40 years in real estate, says today's challenges are no more extraordinary than those faced by earlier generations.

Liebman has climbed the ranks at Corcoran Group since joining as an agent in 1984 at the age of 23. Over the decades, she has weathered major crashes and countless market shifts. She contends that purchasing a first home today is just as difficult as it was 30 years ago—at least in New York.

"It is just as tough," Liebman told Fortune. "Back then, it was more difficult in some ways because you had less neighborhoods that people would live."

"If you think back to the 80s, the meat packing district wasn't this highly desirable district," Liebman explained. "All these areas in Brooklyn that are number one on people's list, they weren't there. So you were sort of getting jammed into these, these few neighborhoods, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, maybe a little bit of Chelsea, and Flat Iron—I don't even think we called it Flat Iron back then, Tribeca was just coming around. So everyone was squished in the same places."

"Today, you have a lot more options, so many more places to go," Liebman added. "But it's always really hard to find those great rentals, or to find those first starter apartments."

Beyond housing inventory, Liebman sees unprecedented opportunity for young people: "If you're not afraid to show off your skill set, and you try and find yourself an opportunity where you're going to be appreciated and where people are going to allow you to expand your horizons and hopefully add value to the company that you're at, I think it's an unbelievable time."

Interest Rates Decline May Shift the Market

Interest rates are gradually declining, following the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting cycle that began in late 2024 after a prolonged period of elevated borrowing costs aimed at curbing inflation. That is not only welcome news for borrowers. Liebman noted that brokers are equally dissatisfied when prices remain uniformly high.

"We like to see lots of movement and people moving around," she said.

She predicts that lower rates will catalyze a shift in the property market. "What I think will happen is we'll get a lot more property on the market as these interest rates go down, and the people who are locked into their homes because they won't trade a 3% mortgage for a 7% mortgage, so that'll provide more inventory," she added, referring to the well-documented "lock-in effect" that took hold after mortgage rates spiked from pandemic-era lows below 3% to above 7%, discouraging existing homeowners from selling.

However, this may not necessarily make it easier for young people to get on the property ladder.

"The flip side of that is all these people who have been waiting to get lower mortgage rates, they are going to jump right in as well," she said. "So it's not on the horizon for what I see, for prices to start coming down anytime soon, but hopefully, with the carrying charges of the mortgage rates being less, that we can see some affordability squeeze back into these markets."

"The good news," Liebman said, is that "there are a lot of different places to live," meaning those flexible about location could find a favorable deal. For instance, rather than targeting Brooklyn or the trendy West Village, she suggests exploring the Upper East Side.

"It's not that expensive," she added. "So if you're willing to move around, which people are now, I think that there are definitely opportunities out there… You're going to secure a much, much less expensive apartment than if you are insistent on being in the West Village."

Saving Advice for Gen Z and Millennials

Liebman's guidance for young people trying to save for a first home is straightforward: "Stop buying Starbucks coffee. I mean, stop spending money on things that are not necessary. It's tremendous how fast that little nest egg can add up."

"If you look at people who are taking an Uber instead of the subway, they're buying their coffee, they're buying their breakfast out, they're spending money on things that are not necessary, they're going out with their friends three nights a week, spending money on alcohol, food… these things definitely start adding up. The subway is definitely cheaper than an Uber."

One money-saving trend among young people that Liebman has observed—and endorses—is dinner clubs.

"Three nights a week, they'll go to someone's house, and they're in charge of the cooking. Young people now seemingly like to cook. I haven't cooked in 30 years, but they love it."

Cash-strapped twenty-somethings have long shared apartments, and Liebman considers this rite of passage as important today as it was for millennials and Generation X. Even billionaire entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban began his career sharing a three-bedroom apartment with five roommates.

To genuinely save money, Liebman advises young people not to fixate on finding the perfect apartment in the perfect location.

"A year or two goes by relatively quickly, quickly, and then, as you keep saving you can trade into something that better suits you," Liebman added. "But nothing's perfect when it starts off."

"I always say to people, even somebody who works with us who's willing to spend $40 million, they're compromising also—it almost doesn't matter what you spend, unless you're going to build your own giant compound, everyone's going to sacrifice somewhere."

A version of this story was originally published on Fortune.com on October 22, 2025.