This is NPR's life kit. I'm Michelle Martin.

Buying a home is a big part of the American dream, but that dream feels harder than ever to achieve right now

There is a record shortage of homes for sale and with so many people eager to buy bidding wars are breaking out

That set prices to record highs the average home in America now sells for more than

$340,000 so if you're still in the market to buy a home

How do you navigate the seemingly impossible market with me now as Chris Arnold and PR correspondent and frequent life kit host

Hi Chris. Hey, Michelle

So set up the problem for us just how hard is it to buy a home right now and by that

I mean, you know the whole deal single family home townhouse condo no difference. Yeah, so journalists like to exaggerate sometimes

To make things sound bigger than they are, but in a lot of ways it really is

Harder than ever before to buy a house and we just got the latest monthly report from the National Association of Realtors

And it's saying that there's a record one year price gain in homes

19% in a single year that is just off the charts and

I talked to one couple their first time home buyers in the Boston area

Rebecca Amitrano and Dan Johnson you imagine your life in this house you put in an offer and then two days later

It doesn't get accepted and it's to meet for me. It's like very emotionally crushing

So I meditate a lot

Practicing non attachment not to sound like

Holier than now or whatever and these guys that the couple actually knows quite a bit about attachment and emotions because they're both

Psychologists so you think well who better to manage this very frustrating housing market

But they're getting pretty frustrated too

They keep going to open houses and they've been doing it for months and they were just getting out bid

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