With Competition Skyrocketing, Homeownership Dreams Seem Out of Reach—Until Now
In the fiercely competitive San Francisco housing market, where prices reach new heights, Hilary Petee and her husband had all but given up on the dream of homeownership. "We brushed it off as something we couldn't do," Petee, a 42-year-old brand manager, told Business Insider. "It didn't seem sensible."
However, a 8.8% rent increase in August changed their perspective. They started to consider buying, if the timing was right. Petee discovered her employer, through a benefit program, offered Nestment, a platform providing homeownership coaching, and decided to give it a try. This decision led to the closing of a $1.4 million home. She attributes her success to her homebuying coach.
"I was excited to have any support at all to help find a home," she said, acknowledging the challenges of the San Francisco market.
Employers Step Up to Support Homeownership
As homeownership becomes increasingly elusive in today's market, employers are turning to innovative benefits packages to attract and retain talent. Nestment, for instance, offers homeownership coaching as an employee benefit, recognizing the link between homeownership and financial and mental stability.
Larry Salazar and his wife, Cheri, founded NestSteps in 2025, an employer-sponsored program designed to ease the financial strain of home buying. Salazar's own experience trying to enter the Southern California housing market in 2000 while working for Boeing inspired him.
A Growing Trend: Employer-Sponsored Homeownership Benefits
Twitch, the streaming company, partnered with Multiply Mortgage to offer employees mortgage rate discounts. BNY also announced a program providing US employees earning under $100,000 with $6,500 for a down payment, along with education and mortgage benefits.
Brooks Holtom, a management professor at Georgetown University, predicts these benefits will gain popularity, especially in markets like San Francisco where entry is difficult. He cites a successful program at Mercy Hospital in Miami, which offered $10,000 towards a down payment to nurses committing to five years of service, as an example.
As more companies embrace these innovative benefits, homeownership may become a more attainable dream for many.