NewDay USA makes homeownership accessible to its young employees

• Key Insight: Discover how employer-led financial education accelerates employee homeownership and operational talent advantages.
• What's at Stake: Rising housing barriers threaten retention, recruitment, and workforce financial stability.
• Forward Look: Employers integrating housing support may become strategic differentiators in tight labor markets.
• Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Many young people assume homeownership is out of reach, but this company is giving their employees the tools and confidence to make buying a home possible.

At home loan mortgage lender NewDay USA, the average age of a first-time homebuyer in their workforce is just 26.5 years old, significantly younger than the median age of 40 years old, according to the National Association of Realtors. The number of first-time home buyers dropped to a record low of 21% in 2024, but NewDay USA is committed to demystifying the process with the right financial education.

"Home buying in general is a pretty scary transaction," says Franco Greco, chief revenue officer at NewDay USA. "It's such a big life decision, one most people can only make two or three times in their lifetime, and NewDay has been very successful in helping employees through it."

Read more: HomeVest is helping employees save for their first home

NewDay offers extensive education around otherwise complex financial topics, like credit reports, FICO scores, appraisals, loan applications, and debt management. Employees are also taught how to invest in their benefits effectively to maximize savings. In addition to a focus on financial wellness, they also offer a competitive retirement plan and performance-based bonuses. Empowering employees with their finances helps them "practice what they preach" to their own customers, Greco says. The company's mission is to help find and secure homes for veterans, and that stability is an important tenant of their value system for the rest of their workforce, too. 

"When you start to understand the process, you don't necessarily think it's as hard as it sounds," Greco says. "Giving employees a background of financial security by owning their own home promotes the building of more wealth and saving money in a really big way." 

Setting employees up for success

Greco himself was able to purchase his first home at 23. His colleagues have been able to do the same, in order to start families, or even share a mortgage with roommates. The ability to buy a home young opens many doors for employees, Graco says, especially in an economic environment and real estate landscape where value is up and rates are not as low as they once were. 

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"Those employees have not only seen success inside of our business, but have had a smoother 20s and early 30s because they already have a home," he says. "They're saving, they're building for retirement and they can go and make other important decisions without stress."

Creating a path to home ownership can also be an effective way to build a loyal, long-lasting workforce. Greco urges organizations looking to boost retention and recruiting to think about how to get more involved in employees' future.  

"Giving someone the ability to get a house and make it feel like a home — I don't think there's any better feeling," Greco says. "Whenever you can give someone that type of security that they can make their own, you're forever connected to that person and they're connected to you and your company."