After the COVID crisis hit last spring, Bernadette Joy and her husband began plotting their move to the popular mountain retreat of Asheville, North Carolina, from their cramped city place two hours away, in Charlotte. By September, they’d topped off a 20% down payment and bought a spacious condo in their dream location.

Joy, an influential blogger who heads her own financial education firm, says many in her millennial age group could also achieve homeownership if they approached their debt reduction and savings goals more systematically.

“There’s so much guilt and shame about money and budgeting for our generation. This causes people to avoid facing financial issues squarely,” says Joy, who provides personal finance pointers through virtual courses and her website: crushyourmoneygoals.com

Obviously, not all would-be homeowners are now in a position to consider a purchase, let alone contemplate a large down payment, says George Ratiu, a senior economist for Realtor.com, the real estate listing service.

“There are still over 20 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits across all programs. And, worryingly, about 12 million of them are scheduled to run out of benefits in December, unless Congress takes action,” Ratiu says.

Even those currently able to contemplate a home purchase are facing headwinds, with property prices continuing to ascend in the majority of metro areas. Year-over-year price gains are now exceeding 6%.

On the other hand, the pandemic has helped keep mortgage rates temptingly low. This has worked to the advantage of wannabe buyers who’ve retained their jobs and can telework, thereby helping them build down payment funds.

“With COVID, people are saving a lot by reducing commuting costs, travel and restaurant meals,” Joy says. “There are fewer opportunities to spend and more chances to cut back debt and save.”

Joy has long been a saver. For instance, she managed to pay off more than $70,000 in student debt for her MBA program in just two years. Together with her husband, the couple also zeroed out their credit card balances. In addition, they accelerated their down payment program by scaling back from two cars to one, thereby scoring significant savings on lease payments, car insurance, gas and repairs.

“Having just one car felt awkward at first. But we soon became comfortable with the change, which is far easier now that we’re both working from home,” she says.

As Joy points out, not all millennials are motivated to save for a property purchase. But many who are find it less demanding than they imagine. Here are a few pointers for buyers:

-- Adjust your attitudes about spending.

Shawn Koch, a planner affiliated with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (napfa.org), says many homebuying aspirants “come to financial planners hoping for a miracle. But we’re not miracle workers.”

Though many young buyers face financial constraints -- including student debt and salary limitations -- many also confront bad money habits, such as impulse spending on designer clothing or other luxuries.

One approach to helping overcome emotional barriers to saving is by reading up on the topic. “Money Harmony” and other books on financial psychology co-authored by therapists Olivia Mellan and Sherry Christie are good places to start.

“The reality is that most people have to get into ‘hunker down’ mode before they can become serious savers and that means an adjustment in attitudes,” Koch says.

-- Start with an inventory of your current spending.

A major impediment to saving is uncontrolled everyday spending. But before you can decide how to reallocate your funds, Koch says you need to review where all your money has gone for at least one to three months. This can be done either with pen and paper or with such online personal finance tools as Mint or Quicken.

Doing an inventory of spending is laborious because you must sift through both credit card and checking account statements. And for cash expenditures, you’ll probably need to make estimates, an arduous exercise. Though the entire process can take the better part of a weekend, Koch says it’s an essential element in your search for potential areas of savings.

-- Consider cutting your core expenses, including phone costs.

Koch says phone charges “are among the fastest growing items in the budgets of many young people. Many think they need the newest phone upgrade as soon as it comes out.”

Creating a working budget that saves on such routine expenses isn’t an intellectually demanding exercise. But for those who could use guidance, Koch recommends the latest edition of “The Budget Kit: The Common Cents Money Management Workbook” by Judy Lawrence.

-- Make sure to enroll in an automatic savings plan.

Are you one of the millions of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck? If so, you might think it impossible to get by if a chunk of money is taken out every time you get paid.

But financial planners say automatic withdrawals are the answer for many who aren’t methodical savers. And surprisingly, they say those who have direct debits taken from their pay rarely miss the money. Meanwhile, their savings accounts grow quickly.

“The idea of an automatic savings plan is that the money rolls in without any proactive steps on your part. That’s a huge advantage for anyone trying to save for a house,” Koch says.

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

For 30 years, Kate Lister has been a big advocate for telecommuting. For just as long, she’s worked from a spacious home office overlooking the Pacific Ocean near San Diego. She even embellished her workspace with a hot tub.

“It’s a great gig working from home. Because you spare yourself commuting and office politics, it’s a wonderful way to save your sanity and comfort,” says Lister, the president of Global Workplace Analytics (globalworkplaceanalytics.com), a think tank that tracks telework trends.

It’s no secret that COVID-19 has dramatically increased the population of telecommuters. Lister predicts that even after the pandemic clears and children are back in school, many employees will continue to work from home, if only part-time.

“Finally, bosses realize people working from home can be trusted and productive. In fact, our research shows teleworkers give back to their companies at least half the extra time they would have spent commuting,” she says.

The quest for a property with ample and attractive space for at least one home office is a major force driving the current housing market and pushing up prices, according to Danielle Hale, the chief economist at Realtor.com, the home listing company.

These days, home offices are so important to buyers that owners wishing to sell should do all they can to emphasize the desirability of their telework space.

What features do buyers most covet in a home office? Lister says many hanker for a private room with a door they can close, sparing them intrusions that could impair their concentration while working.

“The open-floor plan concept is good in theory. But it’s hard to work in an area with no separation from the rest of the household,” she says.

If the home you’re selling offers a room with a view suitable for home office use, it’s wise to stress this in your marketing materials.

“The reality is that people who telework spend more time in their home office than in their bedroom, so it makes sense to work in a space that feels open to the outside world,” Lister says.

Here are a few pointers for sellers:

-- Streamline your office operation.

Of course, many home sellers already use an extra room as a dedicated home office and wish to continue doing so until their place is sold. In that case, real estate specialists say it’s crucial the room be kept clean and clutter-free while the place is on the market.

“Nowadays, buyers want perfection in every part of the house. For the home office, that means no shelves bulging with books, no file cabinets, and certainly none of those clunky old desktop computers,” says Ashley Richardson, who sells homes through the Long & Foster realty company.

The problem is that many who work from their home on a regular basis tolerate a degree of chaos unacceptable to potential buyers. For instance, they accept a space with piles of papers, files and binders sitting on various surfaces around the office.

“Before your house goes on the market, you have to clean up the home office so buyers can envision themselves working comfortably there. This can take many hours of decluttering,” says Richardson, who’s affiliated with the Residential Real Estate Council (crs.com).

Professional organizers, such as Susan Pinsky, author of “The Fast and Furious 5 Step Organizing Solution,” say many sellers who operate a home-based business find the chore of decluttering intimidating.

“They have to figure out how to keep the company running while the house is on the market, which is extremely hard,” she says.

Pinsky points to a paradox: At a time when vast quantities of information are instantly accessible online, many people still save more papers, magazines and books than they need. They also hang on to lots of obsolete technology.

-- Make paper culling to a high priority.

Many people who have home offices are plagued with boxes and bags filled with unsorted papers. These include business reports, computer printouts, junk mail, utility bills, credit card statements and clippings from magazines and newspapers.

Ironically, very few of the papers that people keep have value to their careers, says Pierrette Ashcroft, a productivity consultant who operates her own home-based firm.

“More than 80% of the papers people save are never referred to again,” she says.

The problem for home sellers is that any kind of clutter, including papers, makes a home look untidy. That can cause visitors to conclude that the house has more problems than meet the eye, says Mark Nash, a real estate analyst and author of “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home.”

“Less is always more when it comes to selling your home,” Nash says.

-- Employ a scanner to store papers, rather than filing cabinets.

Many teleworkers struggle to stay organized with extensive filing systems. But Ashcroft says that filing all but the most important papers is usually a waste of time and energy.

She urges those trying to declutter a home office to scan many of their documents into their computer rather than trying to store them in filing cabinets.

“I’m practically paper-free in my own home office. I use a rapid scanner and can scan up to 200 papers in two minutes,” Ashcroft says.

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

For months, home sellers have been flying high. For many, an extreme shortage of properties has meant multiple bids -- with pandemic-weary buyers especially keen on acquiring spacious havens in suburbia and exurbia. Meanwhile, prices have been steadily rising.

The hot seller’s market has created a high level of confidence among homeowners, according to economists at Zillow.com, the national real estate firm. They report that nearly 40% of those planning to sell in the next three years expect a more favorable price if they wait.

But consumer advocates caution that the torrid seller’s market could cool in the U.S., at least somewhat, after the first of the year. Mortgage rates are predicted to remain low. Yet due to economic uncertainties, home values could plateau or possibly even moderate.

“If you truly plan to sell your house soon, I wouldn’t postpone on the hope of still higher prices. No one knows for sure, but by late next year, there might be fewer eager buyers,” says Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert and coauthor of “House Selling for Dummies.”

One indication of slightly diminished interest in homebuying came just days ago, when the Mortgage Bankers Association (mba.org) reported on the continuing, multi-week slump in applications for new home loans.

“Inadequate housing supply is putting upward pressure on home prices and is impacting affordability -- especially for first-time buyers and lower-income buyers,” says Joel Kan, who oversees the association’s economic forecasting.

Tyson urges those planning their timing to take into account their own lifestyle needs and preferences.

“No one has a crystal ball, so don’t stay up all night trying to figure out the perfect season to sell. Just discuss the matter with a trusted listing agent and then decide what works for you,” he says.

Here are a few other pointers for sellers:

-- Try to sell when few homes are available in your area.

If your neighborhood is experiencing a significant shortage in available homes, you may wish to go forward with a planned sale within 30 days or so, says Ashley Richardson, a veteran real estate agent affiliated with the Residential Real Estate Council (crs.com).

“You’re always better off being the only one out there because a dearth of competition can drive prices upward,” says Richardson, who sells homes in Maryland through the Long & Foster real estate company.

Are you unsure about the supply-demand ratio for real estate in your neighborhood? If so, Richardson says the most efficient way to obtain information on local inventory levels is to request statistics from the listing agent you’ve chosen.

“You need to know whether your market is strengthening or weakening for sellers. If it’s weakening, you may wish to move forward with your sale as promptly as you reasonably can,” she says.

-- Delay until repairs and decluttering are complete.

Do you have a seriously stained carpet that needs replacement? Is there peeling paint on your front door? Are you still sorting through the contents of an overstuffed bookshelf?

Make sure all this work is done before giving your agent approval to list your place. She says buyers typically show little interest in any home where renovation work is incomplete.

Likewise, a cluttered house can be very hard to market to prospects, who often underestimate the size of rooms ridden with excess furniture and cardboard boxes. Also, closets crammed full of clothes and shoes make a bad impression.

“When your closets are crowded, people think you have less storage than you really do,” she says.

-- Avoid the weekend to launch your listing.

Richardson believes no one should obsess about the day of the week their agent lists their property in the Multiple Listing Service. But she says it’s better to avoid having it appear on a Saturday or Sunday.

“During the workweek, buyers monitor their email from the office for new listings sent them by their agent. But on weekends, they’re often too busy running errands and driving kids around to pay much attention to email,” Richardson says.

In her opinion, the ideal time for sellers to have property listed is a weekday, preferably early in the week. Then if the place still catches the interest of buyers when they view it online or drive by, they’ll have sufficient time to plan a tour of the interior.

“In reality, most serious home shoppers search with buyers’ agents. So it's prudent to consider the rhythm of their work when choosing the best day to hit the market,” Richardson says.

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