Low mortgage rates are a strong motivational factor for wannabe homeowners. But in an era of high real estate prices, many still can’t obtain a property without a crash savings program that involves significant lifestyle changes.

“You don’t have to ruin your life forever, but you may have to temporarily reset your priorities in a big way,” says Michael Crowley, a longtime Oregon real estate broker.

Crowley tells the true story of one client, a 29-year-old in the fire sprinkler business who was desperate to move away from his parents’ house. Given his modest salary and scarce savings, he had to sell his pickup truck to generate cash for a minimal down payment and closing costs.

“He knew the sacrifice would be worth the short-term inconvenience,” says Crowley, a past president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org).

You could also save money by taking a second job --perhaps as a driver for Uber or Lyft. Income from short-term moonlighting won’t necessarily help you to buy a better house. But the extra cash could improve your credit standing if you use it to pay down credit card debt.

Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (realtor.org), says the fact that mortgage rates are now hovering near historic lows has increased homebuyer eagerness.

“Even though home prices are rising faster than income, national buying power has increased by 6% because of better interest rates,” Yun says.

Are you determined to purchase your first home in 2020? If so, these pointers could prove helpful:

-- Assess your current spending patterns.

Celia Brugge, a Tennessee-based financial planner, says Americans slip easily into temptation when it comes to discretionary purchases.

“It’s easy to fall into impulse purchases for clothing, shoes or electronics. And eating out is a huge category that can easily consume $500 a month or more,” says Brugge, who’s affiliated with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (napfa.org).

Brugge urges anyone trying to embark on a savings program for the purchase of a home or any other major financial goal to first go through what she calls “the boot camp period.”

During this initial phase, she suggests you do an inventory of where your money has gone during a recent three-to-12-month period. You can do this by reviewing the entries on your checking or credit card statements and then summarizing your outlays.

Another handy tool for tracking spending that Brugge likes is available through the website of a company called Mint (mint.com). Through its free software, Mint lets you expedite the budgeting process by easily identifying and organizing your transactions.

Once you know where your money is going, it’s time to start making cuts in low-priority categories.

She says many people find that low-cost social activities, like inviting friends over for a potluck supper, are more gratifying than recreational shopping.

In addition, Brugge says many would-be homebuyers can find savings by cutting off their cable TV and instead tuning into free television options available through the internet.

To stay on track and be accountable for their spending, Brugge advises couples to set regular times, as often as weekly, to allocate 15 minutes or so reporting to each other on their recent spending.

-- Take a serious look at your automotive outlays.

Gerri Detweiler, a personal finance expert and author, agrees with Crowley that many people take their need for a late-model vehicle as a given. But to save for a home of your own, you may need to downscale your expectations in this category.

“Owning a new car is not a necessity, though some people treat it as one,” says Detweiler, who drives a Ford Escape she bought used.

In the ideal world, those with a big savings goal will consider selling a vehicle they own and commuting by rail or bus until they reach their savings goal, she says. Another option is to carpool with a colleague from work.

-- Attempt to reduce your insurance costs.

Insurance brokers and salespeople can be persuasive when encouraging clients to maximize their coverage. But Detweiler says would-be homebuyers should examine their spending in this domain. For instance, you might find a way to reduce the cost of your auto insurance policy without compromising your core coverage.

“Shop around for insurance and also look into how much you could save by increasing your deductibles,” Detweiler says.

-- Arrange for an in-person interview with a mortgage lender.

Financial studies show that people save more if they have a concrete objective in mind. But how can you make your home-buying goal more tangible?

Detweiler says one approach is to visit a mortgage lender to determine how much you could afford to spend for a property and how large a down payment you’ll need.

Once you’ve established your borrowing ceiling, Detweiler recommends you embark on a very limited property search by stopping by a few open houses in the neighborhood you’ve targeted.

“Getting a quick overview of the market can prove highly motivating to help you save,” she says.

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

For many wannabe first-time homebuyers, pursuing their goal feels like running on a treadmill at the gym. They keep up the speed, but never gain any distance.

The problem is that in recent years, overall home prices have continued to escalate, says Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic, which tracks housing markets nationally. What’s more, due to a shortage of available property in popular metro areas, he forecasts that prices will rise 5.8% between now and August 2020.

But the good news for buyers is that if they’re both patient and strategically minded, they may be able to snag a decent deal on a property, even in a highly coveted area, says Stephen Israel, president of a real estate firm affiliated with the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org).

Israel urges buyers to consider properties that have languished on the market for a lengthy period -- what are known to the real estate industry as “stale listings.”

Sid Davis, a real estate broker and the author of “A Survival Guide for Buying a Home,” says the most common reason a property goes unsold for a lengthy period is that it was overpriced when it first hit the market. Even after a series of price reductions, such a home typically retains its stigma, which results in a shrinking pool of possible buyers.

“The longer a house is on the market, the less it sells for. That’s one of the tenets of real estate,” Davis says.

Here are a few pointers for buyers:

-- Inform yourself on prevailing property values in your target area.

Many who are open to the idea of buying a stale property are novice buyers on limited budgets. To navigate the market with confidence, Davis says they need to educate themselves on property values in the area where they’re searching.

Very often, the owners of a stale property that was overpriced from the beginning will ratchet down the price in incremental drops. The key for a prospective bidder is to know when the sellers are approaching a realistic price point.

The key to determining market value is to examine closely the data on recently closed home sales on similar properties, known as “comparables.”

“Make sure your agent shows you very recent comps that are really similar to the house you want to buy,” Davis says.

-- Ensure you’re alerted promptly when price drops occur.

Have you found a home that’s appealing but believe is still significantly overpriced?

If so, Israel suggests you track that property closely, waiting for its owners to take a price cut that brings it closer to its true market value.

To stay alert to potential pricing changes for the property of your choice, Israel recommends you ask your real estate agent to keep you constantly updated by email.

“Ideally, you should be kept informed on a daily basis,” he says.

Also, you can sign up for automatic email alerts from one of the several websites that track real estate listings and price changes. These include the sites of such data-driven firms as Trulia and Zillow.

-- Create a compelling contract offer.

Gregg Busch, vice president of a mortgage lending firm, urges bargain-minded buyers to present the sellers of a stale property with a bid that addresses their need for a sure and urgent sale.

“To get the best possible price, you need the strongest possible offer, which shows that you could really go through with your proposed deal,” Busch says.

How can you make your bid stand out from the others the sellers may receive? One way is to obtain a convincing letter of “pre-approval” from your mortgage lender.

“You want a letter showing that an actual underwriter is committed to doing your deal. Underwriters -- not the ‘loan reps’ who work with the public -- are the ones who have the final say on loan approval,” Busch says.

Also, if feasible, he recommends you propose a quick closing date in your offer. That should make your bid especially appealing to the owners of a stale property, particularly one that’s gone vacant after its owners moved away.

-- Seek to time your bid advantageously.

Are you focused on a particular property whose owners have finally taken a major price reduction after the place lingered on the market? In that case, you may be tempted to come in right away with a low bid.

But Israel says it’s often wise to wait at least one or two weeks before venturing your low bid on a stale property. That’s because typical sellers will wait a while after cutting their price before entertaining a low offer.

“Of course, there are always exceptions. If you’re really in love with the house and think the sellers are finally realistic on price, don’t wait any longer. Bid right after the price drop or you could risk losing your dream house to another offer,” Israel says.

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

Real estate specialists observe a striking difference between the mobility patterns of young adults and those of their aging parents.

“Untethered from family and enticed by new job opportunities, young adults are more mobile today than they have been over the past nearly 60 years,” says Sarah Mikhitarian, a senior economist at Zillow, which tracks housing markets throughout the country.

She says “evolving workplace norms” have reduced the length of time that young adults spend in any given job. For those who own their homes, that typically also means a shorter ownership tenure.

Martha Webb, a home-selling expert and author of “Dress Your House for Success,” says that in terms of clutter, the younger and the older generations accumulate different types of belongings.

“Young adults live more casually and own more technology, including the latest gadgets. They also have a lot of activity gear; for instance, they might have multiple bikes. In contrast, older home sellers have more memorabilia and collections they’ve hung on to for years,” Webb says.

But sellers from all generations share one thing in common. They face the laborious issue of decluttering their home to make it appealing to buyers. Any sellers who fail to clear their property usually suffer a financial penalty.

“A cluttered house doesn’t sell well because it feels chaotic, and buyers don’t want your chaos. They can create their own chaos,” says Webb, a real estate agent in Minnesota who specializes in luxury home sales.

Are you selling a home in the near future and feel intimidated by the volume of decluttering you must do? If so, these few pointers could prove helpful:

-- Consider throwing a party to affirm your clutter-busting project.

Stephanie Calahan, a longtime professional organizer, says the decluttering process can be more tolerable if it incorporates occasional amusement.

Calahan tells of one former client, an insurance company manager, whose many boxes of unsorted personal papers included countless old paid bills, medical statements and nearly every greeting card she’d ever received. After several weeks of tedious sorting, she announced a celebratory party to reward herself.

“Eight of my client’s friends came over for what we call a ‘shredding party.’ She asked each friend to bring along a paper shredder. She served wine and brunch and then everyone helped shred her excess papers. It was so much fun that later all her friends had their own shredding parties,” Calahan recalls.

-- Hasten your campaign with creative ideas.

Professional organizers routinely advise those involved in decluttering to take a break every few hours. That helps prevent the beleaguered feeling that comes from trying to take on a big job all at once.

Calahan recommends preparing a comprehensive written plan that spells out a step-by-step approach. Or you could start with a single part of one room, using a flashlight to define how large an area you’ll tackle at a given time.

“In the midst of a big decluttering project, the flashlight allows you to focus mentally on a single area,” she says.

Once your units of work have been defined, Calahan suggests you allocate a fixed amount of time to declutter each area and then, with the help of a stopwatch, see if you can “beat the clock.”

“Of course, what’s fun for one person may not be for another. ‘Beat-the-clock’ might not work for you, but another game you invent could do the trick. So be creative,” Calahan says.

-- Infuse your work with motivating music.

No matter your musical taste, the use of music during an organizational project can help enliven your spirit and increase the intensity of your work. Compare this with the impact music has during, say, an aerobic dance class.

“Anything that gets rhythm going adds momentum,” Calahan says.

Though popular music is most often played in a fitness center or gym, classical music may be the most appropriate for decluttering, she says. For her, Mozart is a favorite.

Calahan takes special note of a series of books and audio collections by the late musicologist Don Campbell, known as “The Mozart Effect.” He sought to classify the composer’s work in terms of what it awakens in listeners. She recommends Campbell’s CD compilation Volume 4, “Focus & Clarity."

-- Think about doing a clutter-busting blitz if time is short.

If your house is too messy or disorganized for you to tackle, professional organizer Vicki Norris (restoringorder.com) suggests adding extra hands to the task and then conducting an all-out blitz. Many organizing firms can mobilize a team on short notice. You can find one in your area through the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (napo.net).

Alternatively, you may be able to recruit a team of friends or relatives to help you. Whether you hire organizers or seek out volunteers, Norris says you should bring in no more than four to five people and designate a leader.

"The only difference with a blitz is that you blast through the house faster. This is basically decluttering on steroids,” Norris says.

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