Couple was saving for their first home in Washington, D.C., but bought an apartment in Italy instead: 'It's a pinch me moment'

Kelly Beigle, 38, and Boris Krstevski, 40, had lived in Washington, D.C., on and off for years when they decided they wanted to buy a place of their own in the nation’s capital.

The two looked at a couple of places across the district, but say they couldn’t wrap their heads around a 30-year mortgage, monthly payments in the thousands, and a down payment of tens of thousands of dollars — even though they could afford it. Both Beigle and Krstevski work in finance.

“We both have had a lot of career success and arguably make decent money, [but] had gotten to a point with our age that we’re like ‘Why are we working so much?’ Why are we having to make so much money to live the quality of life that we want to live?,’” Beigle tells CNBC Make It.

The U.S. housing market is currently stagnant, with sales remaining sluggish despite mortgage rates slowly easing, according to Redfin. In Washington, D.C., the median home price is $685,000, up 3% from last year.

Krstevski is originally from Serbia, and the couple liked the idea of being closer to his family and having a place where they could split their time between Europe and the United States. They decided on pivoting to buying a vacation home in Europe instead.