Once upon a time, there was the American dream of home ownership. The story went something like this: You graduated high school and college, landed a good job in a field you loved, met the person of your dreams, got married, had 2.5 children and somewhere along that timeline bought a home. But has that dream turned into a nightmare?

A National Association of Realtors’ survey conducted in July reported that first time home buyers made up the smallest share of U.S. buyers in nearly 30 years. According to the NAR report, about 33 percent of home buyers were first time purchasers during the 12-month period ending in June. That percentage is down from 38 percent from the year earlier and down from 40 percent, which has been the historical norm. Also, more than 30 percent of the first time home buyers had incomes in the $45,000 to $75,000 range, leaving those in lower income levels struggling.

Since the financial crisis, first time buyers have been faced with everything from stagnant wage increases to outrageous student loan balances. In addition, the cost of rentals has gone up considerably, creating the perfect financial storm of high debt and low income, without much left over for a down payment. In addition, some young buyers, after having watched their parent’s home lose a tremendous amount of value, may not be that motivated.

One interesting statistic also reported by the National Association of Realtors in its 2014 end of year report is the single woman’s influence in the real estate market. According to the NAR, single women are buying homes twice as frequently as single men. In fact, 23 percent of first time buyers are single women – a cultural shift unheard of even 10 years ago.

First time home buyers who can scrape together enough cash to even consider a home do have some first time buyer programs available to them. Fannie Mae, in an effort to make it easier for working class people to get a mortgage, are easing restrictions that were put in place after the financial crisis when borrowers had to have high credit scores and higher down payments. Over the past couple of years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have loosened some of those restrictions allowing down payments as little as 3 percent.

First time buyers, of , have the option of a fixed-rate mortgage and an adjustable rate mortgage. Adjustable rates could work for young borrowers who anticipate an uptick in their income or who plan on relocating before the rate adjusts. First time buyers may also have the option of an FHA loan, which has easier credit qualifying criteria, lower closing costs and less stringent debt to loan ratios. FHA mortgages do come with other restrictions and possibly inspections, so this choice needs to be carefully reviewed. And for those in the military service, VA loans could be a great option.

The newest Fannie Mae program to be rolled out this year addresses multigenerational households. This new program will allow lenders to include income from non-borrowers who live within a household to help qualify for a mortgage. Geared for low income and minority borrowers who frequently have non-traditional households, Fannie Mae is hopeful that more working class people will be able to achieve homeownership.

Mortgage financing has come a long way during the years I’ve been buying real estate, when the only thing the mortgage application asked about the wife was her name. Hopefully, first time buyers will find a way back into the market as well as all combination of households. That said, I still worry about everyone’s ability to meet that monthly payment.