Home values are ascending in many areas. Meanwhile, the future trajectory of mortgage rates now seems increasingly uncertain.

These two factors have combined to create a sense of urgency for many would-be homebuyers in their 20s who fear they'll be priced out of the market. Yet few in this age group have sufficient funds to make an immediate move. To qualify, most must slash spending, cut debt and amass a savings fund.

"More people are graduating from college with substantial student loans. That's a drain than means they have less discretionary income left to fund a down payment and closing costs," says Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert and author of "Let's Get Real About Money!"

Even now, it's not impossible for some first-time homebuyers to obtain a low or no-down-payment mortgage. However, as Tyson says, those who can assemble a respectable down payment can often obtain a slightly better mortgage rate or qualify for a larger home or both.

"For all buyers, I'm strongly in favor of the traditional 20-percent-down mortgage. I've been preaching the positives of bigger down payments for years," says Tyson, co-author of "Home Buying for Dummies."

For most young homebuyers, he says the challenges involved in doing a crash savings program are well worth the short-term deprivations required by tight budgeting.

Here are a few pointers for first-time buyers:

-- First get a grasp on your current financial picture.

One major barrier to saving for a home is uncontrolled day-to-day spending, says Leo Berard, charter president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (www.naeba.org).

As a prelude to cutting your spending, he recommends you review all your expenditures for the most recent three-month period. You can do this with pencil and paper or with such personal finance software as Quicken, Berard's favorite. Alternatively, you can turn to such free online tools as Mint Money Management (www.mint.com).

"Until they do a comprehensive review, most people have no idea where their money is going. For example, they're unaware of how much they're spending for lunches every day they're at work. And they don't know how much they're spending for weekend entertainment," Berard says.

A full inventory of all your spending can consume many hours -- indeed, Berard says the process might take up to an entire weekend. Nevertheless, he insists it's a crucial first step for any individual or couple determined to reduce spending to buy a home.

-- Develop a budget with your home-buying intentions in mind.

Once you know where your money is going, you're in a good position to build a budget that -- ideally -- should allow for both your core needs and let you start assembling enough savings for your home purchase.

In some categories -- such as restaurant tabs -- you're likely to find a good deal of low-hanging fruit for pruning. But he says wannabe budget cutters should examine every area in search of potential cuts.

For example, you'll want to review your transportation spending and ask if your household could get by with one car instead of two. Maybe you could also reduce your utility bills by using less air conditioning during the warmer months.

As you move forward with your budget, don't overlook seemingly small or relatively infrequent expenditures that can add up quickly— -- like popcorn at the movies or hot dogs at a baseball game.

Another fertile area for cutbacks: your cellphone bill.

-- Confront your credit card debt.

It's not only student loans that hold back some potential homeowners. It's also credit card debt -- much of which may have been acquired during the college years.

"Credit card debt -- especially high interest-rate debt -- is toxic to a savings plan. You've got to zero it out. I strongly recommend that people get out of all their double-digit credit card debt," Tyson says.

Of course, it's not easy to pay off large credit card balances. But doing so will help you in two ways. You'll free up capital for your down payment and, over time, you could improve your credit score.

Most people don't need a financial adviser to help them dig out from credit card debt, Tyson says, though you can find useful guidance from a book on the subject. One that he recommends: "Deal With Your Debt: Free Yourself From What You Owe," by Liz Weston.

-- Watch out for friends trying to talk you out of buying a home.

If you're a relatively recent college graduate with many friends who have busy weekend social schedules and expensive hobbies, you could confront a major psychological barrier to progressing with your own home-buying plans.

"When you're in your 20s, it's not a cool thing to be saving money to buy a house in the suburbs. Your friends may view this as fuddy-duddy and try to talk you out of it," Tyson says.

But he says those who allow their friends to dissuade them from pursuing homeownership in the next year or two might one day live to regret it -- especially if home prices continue to rise during that period.

"Anyone with a stable job who has about a five-year time horizon for staying in the same area would do well to consider buying a home in the near future," Tyson says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

Before Debra Attman would put her sister's house on the market, she insisted that hundreds of items from three giant walk-in closets be purged. Otherwise, she feared the property would seem too crowded to appeal to buyers.

"My sister's house was meticulous, but there was vastly too much volume. The place was bursting," recalls Attman, a 20-year real estate agent affiliated with the Council of Residential Specialists (https://crs.com/).

Attman's sister initially resisted her coaxing. Because of that, the pre-selling involved a lot of yelling between the two siblings.

Besides her accumulated apparel, Attman's sister's closets included a large number of items left behind by her three grown children, all of whom had moved out years before.

It took three agonizing months for the woman to cull through the collections and prepare her property for market. But in the end, her place -- located on a verdant, full-acre lot in a coveted neighborhood -- sold well.

For many longtime homeowners, an excess volume of clothing is a major barrier to a successful home sale.

"Many women -- but also lots of men and teenagers -- own way too much clothing. And because clothing has an emotional element -- we remember where we wore it -- it's tough to give away," Attman says.

In an attempt to make the process of purging excess clothing as smooth as possible, she advises her home-selling clients to adhere to what she calls "the two-year rule." Any item of clothing or shoes not worn in two years should be let go.

Attman also recommends that rather than simply throwing out excess clothing, many people find it easier to let go of it if they do so purposefully.

She tells the true story of the 16-year-old son of one of her clients who spent his summer vacation selling clothing and other excess household items on eBay, thereby helping ease his parents' quest to sell the family home.

"He made enough money for a down payment on a car. Selling your stuff on the Internet or through consignment stores is a good plan for home sellers with the time and inclination to do so," Attman says.

Here are a few other pointers for sellers:

-- Consider obtaining a storage unit on a temporary basis.

Sid Davis, a real estate broker and author of "A Survival Guide to Selling a Home," says many sellers have items on display that could hurt a sale unless they're removed. For example, he cites sports trophies, fancy kitchen gadgets and family photos.

What can you do with such precious objects while your house is on the market? One idea is to pack them in uniform-sized boxes -- stacking them neatly in your garage. But Davis says it's still better to stash them in a rented storage unit until your place is sold.

"Some homebuyers are really enthused about converting a garage into a home business office or decorating the space for an extra rec room. If your garage is full of boxes, prospects could miss this potential," Davis says.

For sellers, there are also other advantages to off-site storage.

"By renting a storage unit, you'll be less tempted to start retrieving items from your boxes. It's a lot harder to go back and pull out that cappuccino maker if you have to drive over to your storage unit to retrieve it," he says.

-- Invest in the services of a high-quality cleaning service.

To hear Davis tell it, few home sellers are willing to engage in the kind of in-depth cleaning needed to sell their property. Yet buyers are extremely resistant to purchasing any property that's less than pristine.

Given that cleaning is so critical, he says that hiring a service to do an in-depth job is well worth the $100 to $200 you'll likely need to spend. And you're unlikely to need to repeat the process for another two to three months.

"While your house is in the showing stage, you will, of course, still need to mow your lawn, wash your dishes and make your beds. But for a while you won't have to hire anyone to scrub away the mold embedded in your bathroom tile," Davis says.

Because not all cleaning companies are created equal, he strongly recommends that you ask for referrals from neighbors and friends and diligently check references.

-- Hold a family meeting to address upkeep issues.

After a home has lingered on the market for more than a couple of days, it's easy for the family living there to lose focus.

"People in the house start leaving unwashed clothes in the laundry room. Bills and papers stack up in the home office. And the teenagers start depositing sports equipment and shoes all over the place," Davis says.

To avoid these outcomes, he strongly encourages sellers to establish a collective plan of action and to do so from the beginning of their listing.

"I recommend a family meeting during which you lay down some rules to keep everybody on track. That way you can establish norms for the household," Davis says.

"The reality is that keeping your house in show-ready condition is an exceedingly stressful part of selling. The only good way to cope with all that stress is to stay laser-focused on the big picture and your priority for a successful sale," he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

Many homebuyers think that the more affluent the neighborhood, the more welcoming it is to newcomers who move there. But the opposite is often true.

"In expensive neighborhoods, everybody is busy. People in professional jobs work extra hours and their kids are programmed in a zillion activities. Nobody has time to get together," says Laureen Kennedy, a real estate agent affiliated with the Council of Residential Specialists (www.crs.com).

Although there are no guarantees in any neighborhood, Kennedy says homebuyers looking for a cohesive community stand a better chance of finding it in a middle-income area than a high-end one.

Kennedy points to several factors that tend to reduce the friendliness quotient in high-end neighborhoods. For one thing, people in such areas are more likely to hire landscaping firms, meaning they're less likely to mingle over lawn care chores. Also, more well-to-do parents send their children to private (rather than public) schools, making it less likely their kids will know each other and pal around.

Still another reason is that -- with some exceptions -- many upscale houses are surrounded by spacious grounds, which discourages casual interaction, says Peter Lovenheim, author of "In the Neighborhood: The Search for Community on an American Street, One Sleepover at a Time."

Lovenheim used the unusual tactic of arranging sleepovers for himself at neighbors' homes, to become better acquainted with them. He says many people are eager to live in close-knit communities but are uncertain how to bond and keep up ties.

Are you moving to a new area and want a friendly community? If so, Lovenheim offers a few clues that could help in your search. Look for a neighborhood that sponsors group events -- like picnics, porch parties and a Fourth of July celebration. Also, ask if the community publishes a residents' directory or uses an online forum for residents to stay in touch.

Here are a few additional pointers:

-- Seek out an area with strong parental involvement in the schools.

People who place a premium on neighborhood closeness do well to focus on school quality. That's because strong schools draw people together -- tightening ties for residents of all ages, says William Bainbridge, president of the SchoolMatch Institute, (www.schoolmatch.com), which provides consumers with comparative information on school quality.

Is it necessary to move to an affluent area to find an exceptional school? Not necessarily, says Bainbridge, who contends that parental involvement is a primary factor in school quality, and that can be found anywhere.

Strong neighborhood schools help promote solidarity, says Mark Nash, a veteran real estate broker and author of "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home."

"Kids are the glue that holds everybody together," he says.

-- Drive through a neighborhood at multiple times of the day.

Once you've narrowed your search to a particular community, Nash suggests you visit at different times of the day and, ideally, on a weekday as well as a weekend.

"To get a full picture, I tell clients to drive or walk through the area at least four times different times: during the morning, mid-afternoon, at dinnertime and again at 11 p.m.," Nash says.

He says visiting in the evening is especially important. The idea is to observe whether most residents spend non-work hours holed up in their homes or are outside exercising, walking their dogs and relating in a friendly manner.

-- Ask about the social dynamics of the neighborhood.

Buyers intent on finding a friendly community are well advised to spend some time asking how people relate to each other.

"Besides just driving through, you can learn a lot about people's attitudes and behavior by going door-to-door on a Saturday and striking up informal conversations," Nash says.

During these conversations, ask residents about the pros and cons of living in the area. If anyone resists opening up, just move on to the next house.

"Explain that you're interested in living in their area and want to know more about it. If you're relaxed and friendly, most people will respond candidly," Nash says.

-- Don't assume that a newly built neighborhood will be unfriendly.

Are you interested in a subdivision that's still under development but fear it could be a cold, aloof area in which to raise a family? If so, Kennedy suggests you learn more about the community before automatically rejecting it.

The residents of newly constructed neighborhoods are typically two-income families with parents in their 20s to 40s who have demanding daily schedules. Even so, many who move to these new areas seek lasting friendships with neighbors.

"Everyone is new at the same time -- making it more likely they'll be open to new friendships. Also, because their landscaping is unfinished, people are outside a lot, making it easier to connect. Then, too, there's a shared pride of homeownership in the new place," Kennedy says.

-- Don't forget that friendship is a reciprocal activity.

There are many advantages to having a support structure in the community where you live. Not only can you borrow enough gas to finish mowing your lawn should the need arise, but you can count on neighbors to look after your property when you're away on vacation or -- most importantly -- when you face an emergency.

"Maybe you're at work when your teenage son takes a nasty skateboard spill. If so, a neighbor with whom you're close could fill in at the hospital until you can make it there," Nash says.

But as he notes, moving to a friendly area won't guarantee you a strong support structure unless you invest the time necessary to get to know your neighbors and socialize on a day-to-day basis as well as at times of celebration.

"In reality, all solid relationships are mutual. That means you have to build friendships with your neighbors or you can't expect them to help you out much when you're in a bind," he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)