Despite high housing prices, the youngest home buyers are outpacing previous generations in homeownership. How are they doing it?

For one thing, they’re starting earlier. More than half of Gen Z buyers are single, which means they are taking on the costs of homeownership alone. They start with a condo, townhome or home smaller than a growing family would need and use their equity to move up to a larger home when they start a family.

They learned from Millennials how crushing student debt can be, and considered their education financial needs more carefully, resulting in less burdensome debt when qualifying for a loan. They are willing to live with their parents longer in order to save for a down payment. They are turning to FHA loans (which require lower down payments and lower credit scores) and other assistance programs to get their first mortgages. Many turn to their families to use inheritance money for down payments.

They are also compromising. More than half of Gen-Zers surveyed said they’re willing to buy a fixer-upper or live in a less-safe or far-flung area in order to find a lower purchase price. They are also co-buying with friends or family members to reduce the load on their first home.

As a result, the homeownership rate among Gen-Zers–those between 19 and 26 years old–is higher than it was for Millennials or Gen Xers.