Brooke Shapiro wondered if she would ever be able to buy a house.
The 37-year-old marketing and sales consultant and her husband, Zack, 37, deputy general counsel for a local university, were renting a two-bedroom apartment in Oakland, CA. They had a baby and a toddler and desperately needed more space for their growing family.
But a home big enough in their area—where prices currently hover at a median of $726,500—were more than they could comfortably afford.