“I never felt fully proud”: YouTuber Eden Masliah owns a $740,000 N.Y.C. apartment at 21, yet struggles to call it her accomplishment
Buying a New York City apartment at 21 would be a dream for many young adults. For YouTuber Eden Masliah, it became a reality after years of building her online career and saving from brand deals. Yet her first home purchase has brought an unexpected emotion with the excitement. Despite investing her own savings and taking on the responsibilities of homeownership, Masliah says she still struggles to feel that the achievement is entirely hers.
How Eden Masliah bought her N.Y.C. apartment at 21
Masliah started creating online content when she was around 11 and later moved from Montreal to New York City at 17. She initially enrolled at LIM College to study fashion merchandising, but eventually realized that content creation was where she wanted to focus her energy.
Courtesy Eden Masliah
By then, her online career was already generating enough income to cover her rent. She eventually left college after deciding that continuing to pay for a course she did not enjoy made little sense.Her income was not always predictable. Brand deals could take months to pay, so she learned to manage money carefully. Once her career became more established, she began putting 50% of larger brand deals into savings.That approach helped her build roughly $250,000 in savings.The decision to purchase an apartment also had a deeply personal side. Her father, who died from ALS, had left money for Masliah and her sister with specific conditions attached. Masliah could use her share for an apartment or investment, but otherwise it was not available until she turned 25.With her own savings combined with that money, she realized buying could make more financial sense than renting.She eventually found a two-bedroom co-op for $740,000. The property stood out because, unlike many co-ops, the small building allowed owners to rent out their apartments. That gave Masliah the flexibility she wanted from a future investment.
Courtesy Eden Masliah
Why Eden Masliah says she struggles to feel proud
The purchase was not the end of the journey. The older apartment needed work, and Masliah expects renovations to cost about $60,000, with another $15,000 going toward furnishing the living room.She chose to focus on timeless pieces rather than filling the home with cheap furniture she might later replace. Her goal is to create a space that reflects her personality while allowing the furniture to move with her if she eventually sells the apartment.Still, the biggest challenge has been emotional rather than financial.“I do feel like I never felt like it was fully my accomplishment,” she says. “Obviously, it was a huge privilege to get a lump sum of money from my dad’s passing. So, to me, I never felt fully proud because I was like, ‘I didn’t do it fully on my own. So, can I really be proud?’” she says.
Courtesy Eden Masliah
Her honesty also highlights a much wider problem facing young adults. Homeownership in major cities can feel increasingly distant, even for people with successful careers.“I really understand the conversation of people being very afraid that they’ll never be able to own homes and live comfortably. It’s such a real crushing issue, and it’s very sad.”For Masliah, the apartment may be a stepping stone rather than a forever home. But the story behind it is more complicated than a 21-year-old influencer buying property in New York. It is about ambition, family, financial discipline and the difficult question of how much credit we allow ourselves to take for the opportunities we inherit.
