if your check is only enough to cover your rent, food, utilities, phone bill, transportation, and maaaaaaaaybe clothes with a few dollars left for emergencies, then saving for a down payment and the closing costs of home is not possible.

one emergency can wipe all of that out. not a major emergency, but something relatively minor for a middle-class person. a small incident, such as car trouble or paying the leftover portion that your health insurance won't cover, can ruin the financial situation of someone who's barely making ends meet.

that along with housing discrimination, predatory lending, redlining, and absence of generational wealth creates the situation we see today.