The housing market is proving to be a difficult one for both buyers and sellers.

Thirty-year mortgage rates have come down over the past several months to the lowest they’ve been in a year at 6.49%, but experts in real estate say it doesn’t address struggles first-time home buyers are facing and the lack of inventory.

“I was looking through homes, and I just kept hitting dead ends,” said Jolene Bostick-Harris.

It got to the point where the 19-year-old almost called it quits.

“My driving force was my nephew, my mom,” she explained. “Trying to make a home for my family, making sure that we’re all safe and stable.”

Bostick-Harris says outside of decrepit homes, the inventory inside her price range was slim.

“I was not making enough money to be eligible for grants, and that really impacted my ability to find a home I really enjoy,” she said.

So she enlisted the help of Mellissa Woodstock, a Capital Region-based real estate broker who says those challenges are not unique.

“Sellers are on the fence about selling because they don’t want to give up their low interest rates and they ask themselves, 'where am I going to move to?'” Woodstock explained. “Buyers, on the other hand, are having a hard time competing with cash offers.”

Woodstock says the market is in such a place where sellers are favoring buyers who waive inspections, and buyers are often paying 5-20% more than the asking price.

“You really want to do your best by that first-time home buyer,” Rep. Paul Tonko said.

The congressman heard about the concerns firsthand during a roundtable discussion Thursday in Latham, where solutions were pitched, like bolstering federal grant programs for buyers.

“Create some incentives for sellers in terms of credits, maybe on their income tax return, capital gains,” Woodstock said. “Things that will help some sellers get off the fence.”

Bostick-Harris has managed to buy her first home in Amsterdam and has a message for other young first-time buyers.

“If you just keep headed through the process, going through the fire, you’ll eventually find something you’ll stick with,” she said. “You’ll find a way to make it work.”

Tonko hosts a number of the roundtable discussions on various topics across his district and brings those conversations to Washington, where the information he gathers hopefully inspires lawmakers to figure out ways to mitigate these issues and create a clearer path to homeownership.