Home prices have been steadily rising for months, with more gains ahead. Moreover, mortgage rates are expected to gradually climb through 2018. Yet despite these affordability challenges, this could prove a very strong year for property sales.

That’s according to Frank Nothaft, the chief economist for CoreLogic, a major information and analytics firm with special expertise in real estate. Why the optimism? Nothaft points to strong expectations for the economy in the new year.

“Workers are feeling secure in their jobs, and we’re seeing some real income growth, all of which makes buyers more confident in their economic well-being," Nothaft says.

Another positive: "Millennials" -- adults now in their late 20s to early 30s -- are approaching their prime home-buying years.

It’s true that many millennials are breaking into homeownership later than did their parents, who typically bought their first property in their early 20s. But Nothaft says they are equally driven to own.

“Because the median age for homebuying is now 32, there’s a great tailwind coming with the millennials,” he says.

But a big issue for would-be buyers involves rising property prices, which Nothaft says will increase an average of 5 percent during this year. That translates, he says, “to a further erosion of affordability.”

His key piece of advice for those who wish to become first-time homebuyers: “Get your financial house in order.” That means making sure your credit history is accurate and your credit scores are strong.

“You want to be qualified and ready to pull the trigger when you find the right house,” Nothaft says.

Here are a few other pointers for buyers:

-- Do a thorough review of your current financial situation.

Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert and author of “Mind Over Money: Your Path to Wealth and Happiness,” says one major obstacle to saving for a house is uncontrolled day-to-day spending. But before you can decide how to reallocate your income, he recommends you review where your money has gone, category by category, over a recent three-month period. This can be done either with pen and paper or such personal finance software as Quicken.

“Lots of folks ... fail to realize that small expenditures -- like lattes at Starbucks -- can quickly mount up,” Tyson says.

-- Create a spending plan that lets you save for your home-buying goal.

Once you know where your money is going, it’s time to create a budget that lets you meet your essential needs while still amassing savings for your closing costs and down payment.

“No budget should strip you completely of small indulgences, or you might go off the rails due to a feeling of privation. But when reordering your priorities, always keep your major priorities -- like homeownership -- in mind,” Tyson says.

He recommends you closely evaluate every segment of your spending in search of possible reductions.

For example, if you are renting in a high-end building, perhaps you could move to a more modest apartment when your lease is up.

You may also find fat to trim from your transportation spending. If commuting solo by car is costing you more than necessary, why not switch to public transit or carpooling, if only for a finite period?

Your food expenditures may also be out of line.

“It sounds simple, but people are often shocked at how much they spend eating out,” Tyson says.

-- Tackle your debt aggressively.

For many students, assuming school debt is nearly unavoidable -- particularly for those who attend graduate or professional school.

But even after their schooling is complete, many millennials continue to accumulate credit card debt, and at interest rates much higher than their student loans.

Of course, paying down credit card debt can require severe self-sacrifice. But, you’ll find it much easier to amass your down payment when you’re no longer juggling card payments.

Likely, you won’t need a financial adviser to straighten out your finances, but you can find useful guidance through books on the topic. One that Tyson recommends: “Your Credit Score: How to Improve the 3-Digit Number That Shapes Your Financial Future,” by Liz Pulliam Weston.

-- Realize that timing on home-buying is a personal matter.

At this point in the real estate cycle, with prices rising steadily and loads of competition for entry-level housing in popular metro areas, some frustrated millennials are postponing their homeownership dreams. But others continue to persevere until they achieve their target objective.

If you’re in the stay-with-the-program camp, Tyson says you should be wary of discouraged friends who try to dissuade you from pursuing your plans.

“Only time will tell whether you’re better off buying at this stage of the market. But don’t let disagreements on timing ruin your friendships. As always, reasonable people can disagree,” he says.

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

Do you plan to sell a home in a torrid real estate market -- a place where prospects line up with offers? Are buyers there so eager they’re willing to waive the right to a home inspection?

If so, you might assume you could take a passive approach to the selling process and do just as well as neighbors who invest time, energy and money to present their place for sale in the best possible condition.

But Dylan Chalk, a home inspector who’s done 5,500 inspections since entering the field in 2003, says homeowners who take a proactive approach to selling fare far better than those who are passive, even in very hot markets.

“Just because your buyers don’t hire an inspector doesn’t mean they won’t be disappointed later when they discover problems with your property. ... If buyers run into problems later, that could ruin an otherwise smooth sale,” says Chalk, who’s affiliated with the American Society of Home Inspectors (homeinspector.org).

“You want to take control of your sale, not have it take control of you,” says Chalk, author of “The Confident House Hunter,” a book for buyers.

It’s true that an experienced listing agent can quite easily identify minor repairs that need to be done before your place is shown for sale. But it often takes the expertise of a home inspector to detect larger issues.

Chalk is a strong advocate for what’s known as a “pre-listing home inspection.”

“Often, simple things can come up on a home inspection that can become much more complicated when the clock is ticking under a pending offer. You want to attack tricky repair items on your own time frame,” he says.

R. Dodge Woodson, author of multiple books on home repairs and remodeling, says many sellers -- especially those in inventory-tight markets -- are reluctant to go forward with pre-sale repairs because of the cost and inconvenience involved.

“Most people are extremely busy and finding the right contractors can be very time-consuming,” he says.

Still, he says it’s important to spend the time it takes to search for the right contractors for your repair work.

Here are a few pointers for sellers:

-- Make a wide search for the best available contractors.

Woodson advises against using online advertising to hunt for contractors. A more reliable approach, he says, is to seek recommendations from friends, neighbors or work associates.

“Ask everyone you know for names. Consider this a treasure hunt,” Woodson says.

Besides those in your immediate circle, Eric Tyson, co-author of “House Selling for Dummies,” says you may wish to garner contractors’ names through the real estate agent with whom you are working to list your home.

“Realtors can be really good sources because they have lots of interactions with contractors. They’ll hear complaints if a contractor does a lousy job,” Tyson says.

Also, contractors may be more attentive to your project if they know you might complain about their work to the agent, which could hurt their chances for repeat business.

Yet another way that Tyson suggests you search for referrals is through an online consumer rating service, such as Angie’s List. This company provides reviews on service providers in more than 200 metropolitan areas.

-- Get an ample number of estimates for large jobs.

Woodson, who has worked much of his career as a licensed plumber and has also run his own home improvement company, strongly recommends that homeowners obtain five estimates for any job expected to cost more than $1,000.

Why five estimates? Because experience has taught Woodson that consumers need a range of bids to gain perspective on pricing.

“What you usually want is a contractor in the middle of the pack on price. You can throw away an estimate from anyone who comes in 25 percent or more above or below the others in the pack. The guy at the top is charging too much, and the one at the bottom is probably cutting corners,” he says.

-- Learn more about a contractor by visiting other clients’ homes.

After you’ve narrowed the contractors’ field with a comparison of price estimates, you may think your next step is to ask any company you’re considering for references. But Woodson says this is usually a “pointless exercise.”

“You don’t know if that reference is really someone’s brother-in-law or maybe someone else the company hired to say good things about them,” he says.

Also, Woodson says it’s a mistake to rely on photos the contractor has sent to you via email.

“How do you know that these pictures show the contractor’s real work? Even if they do, the photos could have been doctored,” Woodson says.

To get a truer, better sense of a contractor’s work, ask to visit homes where the firm is now working or has recently completed jobs.

“Sure, someone from the company has to call clients to get their permission for you to come over. But even so, the company shouldn’t balk at letting you see their work. If they do, you’ve got to wonder what they’re hiding. This is a big red flag,” Woodson says.

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

Are you a longtime renter determined to make your first home purchase as soon as possible?

If so, you need to face squarely the realties that confront all wintertime buyers, says Felipe Chacon, a housing economist for Trulia, which tracks real estate markets across America.

The biggest problem for buyers this season is that prices are continuing to rise, especially for homes in coveted close-in neighborhoods that are walkable and loaded with amenities. Meanwhile, inventories in these popular communities are still lean and, to make matters worse, many sellers take their property off the market in winter.

Moreover, a new statistical report by Chacon shows that those hanging onto a property that’s overpriced rarely take a necessary price cut in early winter. More sellers are willing to cut deals during the warmer seasons.

But all isn’t negative for those who intend to buy a house this winter, says Tom Early, a real estate broker who twice served as president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org).

“Comparatively speaking, mortgage rates are still breathtakingly low for buyers these days,” Early says.

Another positive, he says, is that a minority of those homeowners who’ve kept their properties on the market in winter are very anxious to sell. Often, these are owners who must relocate due to a job change or other reason.

“These are people who realize that time is money,” he says.

Here are a few pointers for wintertime homebuyers:

-- Search for highly motivated sellers.

As Early says, one key to finding a good deal is to search for owners who are exceptionally motivated.

“Wintertime buyers should look for ‘stale listings.’ These involve owners who’ve been asking too much and therefore have been unsuccessful in selling for months on end. They’re finally getting worn down and are therefore more willing to deal,” he says.

One way of identifying highly motivated sellers is to examine statistics. Ask your real estate agent to determine the average “days on market,” (from list to sale), for properties in the area where you want to live. Then look for homes in that price range that have sat unsold for a longer-than-average period, which gives them a stigma.

Before crafting an offer, also consider another set of numbers: the average list-to-sale price differential. If you note that most properties have recently fetched 95 percent of their list price, you might consider a first bid at a 5 percent discount off what’s being asked -- assuming your research shows this is warranted.

-- Don’t try to negotiate through insults.

Suppose you’re seriously considering a house that suits your needs. But you notice a few minor shortcomings in the floor plan, such as the location of the laundry room and the first-floor powder room.

Sid Davis, author of “A Survival Guide for Buying a Home,” says some purchasers attempt to strengthen their bargaining position by writing a letter that highlights a property's minor flaws or by noting the owners’ poor taste in decor.

Should you take this approach? Absolutely not, Davis says.

“Criticize the owners and you’ll only shoot yourself in the foot. The odds are they’ll take your comments personally and resist dealing with you at all,” says Davis, a longtime real estate broker.

This isn’t to say that you and your home inspector shouldn’t be forthright in itemizing corrections needed to bring the property up to standard. But do so in a manner that doesn’t offend the owners.

“Practice the art of being assertive without being annoying,” Davis says.

-- Launch your quest for a first home at a friendly lender’s office.

Eric Tyson, co-author of “Home Buying for Dummies,” notes that years after the Great Recession, most mortgage lenders are still stringent in their requirements of borrowers. That means all home loan applicants continue to face significant scrutiny.

“Count on your lender looking closely at your credit history and asking lots of questions about your income and assets. This is particularly likely if you’re self-employed or work on commission,” Tyson says.

By seeing a mortgage lender early, you have time to get mortgage pre-approval, which will give you a realistic sense of how much you can afford. A pre-approval letter is also a strong bargaining chip.

“The most important reason for mortgage pre-approval is to get your lender’s blessing that you’re qualified for a loan. This makes you a lot more credible with your sellers,” he says.

-- Stay positive about your push for homeownership.

Will 2018 represent a gradual shift toward more of a buyer’s market? No one knows for sure. In most areas, property values continue to rise, though there are an increasing number of exceptions to this rule. But the new Trulia report offers some hints for better times ahead for buyers. Chacon notes than half of home sellers in the 100 largest U.S. metro areas took price reductions during the year ended this October, which could foretell more price cuts throughout next year.

Early says buyer confidence remains strong among those in the millennial generation, whose earnings are gradually rising.

“Many millennials are late bloomers in their early 30s who are just now settling down and getting married. They’re chomping at the bit to finally buy a house of their own,” he says.

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