27.
This person used a settlement from a car accident toward their down payment.
“I bought a house one year ago with my boyfriend at the time. I was 30, and my boyfriend was 31. We both had been renting and working low wage jobs without assistance from our families since the age of 18. We got together when we were 27 and 28 and moved in together the same year. We both got a little bit nicer jobs (making around $85k combined income) and were able to save some money for one year.
I was also in a moderately bad car accident caused by a distracted driver. I was injured, and my car was totaled. It was terrible, and I still have pain to this day. The point is I received a small, but significant lump sum of money, $6k. We immediately combined this with our house savings, met with a lender, and qualified for a home with our $13k.
Two months later, we bought a house for $320k. We had to do an FHA loan, which sucks, but is better than nothing. Over this past year, we put our stimulus money and our continued savings into updating the house little by little, and we really have a nice little home now. We got married in the backyard last summer!
To sum it up, we wouldn’t have been able to do this without the car accident money and jobs that pay fair wages. Quitting brunch, not traveling, and missing out on adventures with friends was a small factor that definitely helped, but by no means would I own this house if all I did was quit eating avocado toast.”
—bloopbloop1
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/meganeliscomb/millennials-share-how-they-bought-homes