Buying a house may seem like something only your parents’ generation could have accomplished at a young age. But some hard-working 20-somethings have saved their money and reached for the “white picket fence” part of the quintessential American dream.

The U.S. Census Report announced that, in the fourth quarter of 2009, 23.7% of Americans under age 25 owned a home, and 38.8% of Americans ages 25-29 owned a home.

Tasha, a software consultant from GA, bought her house three years ago, when she just 23. She saved for five years. After renting an apartment for two years, Tasha asked herself, “Why should I continue paying someone to maintain a property that will never be mine?”

That realization motivated her to begin her search for a condo.

Tasha enjoys the freedom associated with owning her own space. She says, “I can paint as many wild wacky colors that I want, I can do as many renovations as I’m financial able to do and don’t have to request permission from a landlord to do so!”

However, with that freedom comes the responsibility to fix things that go wrong. Recently, a valve in her condo’s hot water heater broke, and water spilled from the condo for a few days before Tasha knew something was wrong. As a homeowner, she had to find a contractor, pay for the repairs, and shoulder the extra cost of that month’s water bill.

But for Tasha, the experience was just part of life as a 20-something homeowner.

Real estate agent Tom Lowry from the Philadelphia, PA area recently worked with several 20-somethings who bought their first homes. He says, “They did not want to pay rent anymore and thought with the housing market being positioned in a good way favoring the buyer. . . it was a good time to buy.”

Most of his clients purchased condos, townhouses, or modest fixer-upper single-family houses.

Another young homebuyer is Lauren Maiman MacKellar, 25, a public relations consultant from Beverly Hills, MI. Last year, MacKellar and her husband took advantage of the down economy in suburban Detroit, MI and bought a house. They saved for their new home for about one year.

She says, “We could afford homes and areas that we normally wouldn’t have been able to afford. It was a combination of right place at the right time for us.”

MacKellar is right on point about living in the right place. CNN and Money Magazine did a survey on the most/least affordable places to buy a home based on median home prices and average income. Three Michigan cities ranked in the top five most affordable locations in the US. By contrast, the New York metro area is the least affordable place for homebuyers.

The MacKellars are some of the first in their circle of friends to own a house. MacKellar says, “The response we get most from friends who aren’t homeowners is ‘Wow! This is a real house!’”

Home ownership has been a bonding experience for the MacKellars. Over the past seven months, they’ve redone most of the rooms, learning firsthand about design, compromise, and teamwork.

Owning a house also teaches them a lot about money management. They’re more conscientious about being energy efficient and keeping costs down, because everything falls on their shoulders.

Becoming a homeowner has its financial advantages. The federal government is offering a tax credit for first-time homebuyers who purchased between January 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010. Ten percent of the purchase price, up to $8,000, will be deducted from the buyer’s federal income tax rate. So if a buyer who earns $40,000 bought a $150,000 house, for tax purposes, their income would be $32,000.

Another young newlywed who grabbed a piece of the American dream is Alisa Weiss from Buchanan, MI. Weiss, 26, a former assistant to an information systems manager, and her husband, bought a house in 2009.

She says, “We had worked hard, gotten ourselves completely out of debt, and we knew we were wanting to stay in this area. So, saving for a house was the next logical step for us.”

Like MacKellar, the Weisses took advantage of the buyers’ market. Their monthly expenses are about $300 less than when they were renting.

The Weisses and the MacKellars have a distinct advantage as a couple. Two incomes are better then one when it comes to saving for a down payment. A survey done in 2008 by real estate consulting firm Danter revealed that 83.4% of married couples owned a home, as opposed to 58.6% of unmarried women and 50.6% of unmarried men.

Realtor Gail Coleman of Chattanooga, TN noticed an up-swing in 20-something’s buying real estate in her market. Last year, she worked with 17 couples; 14 were co-habituating or engaged, and three were married.

Besides the financial rewards, the Weisses found emotional rewards of being homeowners. An animal lover, Weiss says, “I’m a really big advocate for adopting from shelters, and now we have four pets (two dogs and two cats) all rescued.” Their former small, dark apartment was not a good place for pets, but now the animals have a sunny backyard in which to play.

Weiss echoes Tasha when she says the biggest adjustment to owning a house is the emergency repairs. After a bad storm, the roof started leaking. Fortunately, the leak was relatively easy to fix, but it reminded the Weisses that home ownership can be stressful as well as rewarding

Whether you’re taking the plunge into home ownership or just exploring the waters, hopefully these young homeowners have made you realize that it is within your reach.