It can be especially daunting for those considering buying their first home and to see the costs surging.

Karess Cannon is ready to stop renting and is searching for her first home somewhere in central Connecticut.

“I realize there’s no perfect time, but as rents keep going up, it just makes sense to actually be putting money into something that I own,” Cannon said.

For many buyers, it’s becoming harder to find and afford a starter home – those in the bottom quarter of sales.

Starter prices here in Connecticut have skyrocketed about 50% from 2019 to 2024, according to Realtor.com.

The average starter home going from about $263,000 to then hitting $390,000.

Cannon has been saving and while she hasn’t been priced out of the current market yet, it still has its surprises.

 “Like the listings, the reality of what’s out there right now, how does that contrast with your expectations going into the process?” NBC Connecticut’s Matt Austin asked.

“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s just kind of knowing that X amount of dollars isn’t going to get you X amount house. Like that’s been the biggest management and being like, what things do I really need versus wants,” Cannon said.

When it comes to the costs, experts recommend buyers keep their mortgage payments to less than 30% of their income.

That means to afford the average starter home in the state, someone needs an income of about $93,000.

That’s gone up a lot recently amid a rise in prices and mortgage rates.

“You put those two things together and affordability starts to feel less and less attainable,” said Rachael Cisz, of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties.

Cisz says with lower supply these past few years starter homes are in high demand.

It’s all adding up and last year only 24% of successful homebuyers were first-timers – the lowest on record.

Cisz tries to prepare her clients for searching in this market.

“I think it is all about setting the expectations both for what the process is going to look like and also kind of showing them firsthand. Here’s what your money can buy you, you know, in different towns, different types of properties,” Cisz said. “I’m always stressing to them, ‘you know, you might want this in a house, but you need to remember this isn’t your forever home. It’s just getting you into the market.’”

Cisz also reminds hopeful homeowners there is help for first-time buyers, including state assistance with a down payment.

One person was taken to the hospital to be treated for burns after a fire in West Hartford on Thursday night.

Firefighters responded to a single-family house on Fennbrook Road just after 10:30 p.m. and found heavy smoke and fire visible on the back side of the residence.

No one was in the home, but one adult was burned while trying to put out the fire, according to the fire department.

A West Hartford firefighter/paramedic treated the victim at the scene and then the person was taken to a local hospital.

The person’s condition is not known, but it does not appear to be life-threatening, according to the fire department.

The West Hartford fire marshal’s office is investigating the origin and cause of the fire.

Crews were at the house until 10:57 p.m.

Fire officials said they do not believe the house will be able to be occupied because of the extent of the fire, smoke and water damage.

The Red Cross is assisting residents.

No other injuries are reported.

Potholes, racing cars, and reptiles, all things you should be watching out for on the road in the spring.

Environmental stewards are warning about critters as a hazard when you’re driving around this time of year.

“I have to imagine they have been here long before we have been here,” said Matthew Dionne, regional manager of Best Cleaners in Middletown.

His business is subject to an annual march a Middletown turtle must make. Adults crossing from Pameacha Pond on South Main Street across to a marshy area behind the Best Cleaners business.

“It was kind of a passed along story of how the turtles show up every year. In the spring,” said Dionne.

He has been following the turtle’s journey about 6 or 7 years, since he started in this office.

“The adults will come back to the pond in the marsh… midsummer, the babies make the trek back,” he explained from the back of the store.

The turtles are choosing to nest in a marsh a couple hundred feet from the water. Once the eggs hatch, the babies will beeline for the pond. The issue: the building in the way, and a busy street.

“We regularly see them marching on through, and they don’t stop for anyone,” said Dionne.

Best Cleaners will leave the doors open all summer long for air flow, and some of the turtles will choose the most direct route, which is through the building.

When you’re as tiny as they are, a helping hand will go a long way.

“The summertime is always when you have to keep an eye out, you gotta look down, you gotta look where you are walking,” Dionne said.

He and the team offer a lift when they come across a turtle. A faster ride, and safe passage across South Main.

“We do what we can, and whatever we can to help out, it makes the workday fun and interesting,” he said.

That helping hand got the green light from experts.

“It’s really important to preserve the population of our adult turtles,” said Sarah Lawson, a biological science and environmental science professor with Quinnipiac University.

She said you can expect turtles, along with a lot of other wildlife, to be on the move this time of year.

She added, it’s okay to help, offering a nudge or a lift, but keep the turtle moving in the same direction it was headed.

She also made clear; your safety should always come first.

“I think our safety is number one of importance, if you are crossing a busy road, be aware of traffic, put your hazards on,” Lawson said.

Even just slowing down to protect the turtles can go a long way. She noted turtles are “ecosystem engineers” and play a vital role in ponds and lakes around Connecticut.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental protection agreed as well. If there is a real danger, you can enlist the help of an animal control office or police department, especially in the case of a snapping turtle crossing the roadway.

The idea of helping turtles is a good one according to Jenny Dickson with DEEP, especially the females who are crossing roads to lay eggs.

She explained road mortality typically impacts females the most, because they are crossing roads more often. It takes females years to get to a reproducing age, so if a female turtle is killed on the road, it could impact population for a long time.

Dickson also pointed out, springtime is when a lot of young wildlife is on the move, so she is encouraging drivers to slow down, and pay extra attention to prevent animal strikes.

Back at Best, over the years, Dionne said they have helped tons of turtles cross the road, never asking why.

“Like they say, help your neighbors, and the turtles are our neighbors, that’s what we are here,” he said.

They just consider it the right thing to do because the turtles were here first.

“If we can take a couple minutes to make sure they are here long after we are gone, that’s kind of our obligation, it’s kind of what we do,” he said.