As home prices and mortgage rates continue to stretch budgets, many would-be homebuyers are wondering if they’ll ever be able to make the jump. Industry professionals say that creative financing tools and professional guidance can make homeownership more attainable, but a lack of awareness continues to stand in the way. Three voices from different corners of the housing industry — a former agent turned property inspector, a national housing economist, and the founder of a resource hub for down payment programs — each described to HousingWire how affordability pressures have evolved, what’s available to help buyers and why too few people know where to look. John Obermiller, a former Century 21 agent in North Carolina who now inspects properties for a local municipality, has seen the market both as a professional and as a potential buyer. Even with some recent cooling, he said affordability remains the central barrier. “In my general area, things have slowed down,” Obermiller said. “Houses are sitting on the market for a while. However, there are particular neighborhoods that are (promoted) specifically through the Realtors marketing directly to New York, New Jersey, and they’re drawing people in specifically to those neighborhoods.” Obermiller pointed to builders such as D.R. Horton, which advertise relatively lower per-square-foot prices than competitors. But he said monthly costs remain daunting. “(D.R. Horton) was the last I knew that were building at about $190 a square foot, which is well below $285 and over $300 for the rest of the builders,” he said. “But even then, I figured out pretty quick what the payments are for something like a $350,000 loan with everything tied in. I think it was running about $3,000 a month, just for a starter home.”