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All that time spent scrolling through Zillow’s listings and following Instagram accounts of cheap old houses is actually worthwhile. According to a new report by real-estate site Clever, millennials are, in fact, buying homes—but not necessarily the way their parents did.

Essentially, we’re more open to going through the home-buying process ourselves: Millennials are 20 percent less likely to use real-estate agents than other generations, and they’re twice as likely to find their space on social media. But there can be drawbacks to this decision: Forgoing a realtor can make the home-buying process longer and negotiations more difficult.

Buying your first home without an expert to walk you through the process can be intimidating, but the key to finding your dream home is thinking strategically. If anything seems like a red flag, ask about it; overestimate the amount of square footage you’ll need; and if it feels like the perfect fit, act fast—you never know if someone else is also admiring the property on their phone screen.

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