As a graduate student at the Parsons School of Design, Kendall Huberman shared a small two-bedroom rental in the East Village with a friend, paying more than $1,800 a month.

Ms. Huberman didn’t want to stay there long. Her block, filled with sidewalk cafes, was “insanely loud,” she said. A severe mouse problem made her consider acquiring a cat. The rent seemed too high.

Her internship at a residential design firm, J. Vedel, turned into a job as a design assistant. Ms. Huberman began to contemplate buying a place. She knew that her father, who is keenly interested in real estate, would help her with a down payment.

“He thought of it as an investment by way of me,” she said. “Throwing my money away in rent was making me nauseous.”