While her friends spent their 30s checking off that prized milestone — often with help from their parents — Payne struggled to save money while raising a daughter on her own. Home prices in Portland, Oregon , where she lived, felt out of reach long before the pandemic hit. Then Payne lost her job. When mortgage rates plummeted in the summer of 2020, she was more worried about meeting her basic needs than spending her Saturdays staking out open houses. In 2021, though, Payne moved to