Buying your first home isn't easy, even in Sask. Here's how two people in their 20s did it

Sarah Radke is thrilled to finally be able to live in her own home after years of saving and sacrificing. 

"It's exciting and nerve-racking and scary," the 23-year-old said. 

Owning a home in Saskatchewan isn't as easy as it used to be. 

For people in their 20s and 30s diving into the residential real estate pool, the waters are getting choppier. Without a boost from the bank of mom and dad, an inheritance, or a good credit score, that dream of owning a home is slipping further away. 

Radke makes about $65,000 a year from her main job and another $10,000 annually from one she works on weekends. 

The total cost of her home was $272,000. She made a down payment of 20 per cent ($55,000) and pays $1,264/ month toward her mortgage, one with a 25-year amortization period. She secured an interest rate of 4.99 per cent, locked in for a five-year term. 

Radke had been saving for almost a decade, working multiple jobs through high school, university, and even until recently she'd been saving 90 per cent of what she earned toward the down payment. 

"I'm just like really lucky that like I was able to live at home for so long and be able to save up so much money. And then I was able to find the jobs that I have and be able to save up," she said. 

Saving that money while living with parents still wasn't easy, "It sucks being in high school and not being able to go out with friends, being in college and not being able to go to drinks with buddies, not being able to go on trips, because you're saving up," she said. 

Even with the help and years of saving, she had to settle for a home that needed work. 

"Anything under $300,000 either needs shingles or it needs windows or it doesn't have AC or it needs paint .. do in the inspection and there's a hundred more things that need to be done," she said as she painted the walls of her new home. 

The benchmark price — the typical price of a home — in Saskatoon rose to $406,500 in July. 

Real estate market analyst Josh Buchanan said it's been a historic summer with record highs for home prices including single detached houses, condos, and townhouses. 

He also said current inventory is the lowest in 16 years, whereas sales are the highest in that period.