{"id":2241,"date":"2026-06-17T03:56:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T03:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2241"},"modified":"2026-06-17T03:56:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T03:56:05","slug":"what-happened-to-the-starter-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2241","title":{"rendered":"The Death of the Starter Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"lead-in-text-callout\">After several exasperating<\/span> Zillow searches through Portland, Oregon\u2019s increasingly expensive housing market, Gaby Col\u00f3n and Daniel Quebral scrapped their plans for a traditional home and embraced the open road, buying a 315-square-foot home on wheels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">\u201cRent is crazy right now, and housing prices are even worse,\u201d Col\u00f3n says. \u201cWe just wanted to get out of the rat race, and we wanted stability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Col\u00f3n, 27, and Quebral, 33, are part of a staggering trend\u2014educated, employed Americans who are struggling to buy a home, a goal made ever more difficult by an inflated housing market. Nishu Sood, a principal at the housing research firm John Burns Research and Consulting, notes that in the decade since 2015, inflation rose 37 percent, incomes rose 45 percent, and the cost of buying a home has gone up a whopping 115 percent (by comparison, renting an apartment has risen 43 percent). The national average price for a starter home was $292,950 in 2024, up from $190,559 in 2019, according to <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.realtor.com\/news\/trends\/income-afford-starter-home-each-state\/\" class=\"external-link text link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.realtor.com\/news\/trends\/income-afford-starter-home-each-state\/&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realtor.com\/news\/trends\/income-afford-starter-home-each-state\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">realtor.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">With housing costs far outpacing wages, starter homes\u2014typically defined as houses that are priced in the lower third of the market\u2014are increasingly elusive. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average age of first-time buyers has hit 40 years old, a troubling sign that one of the traditional markers of adulthood is being postponed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Analysts attribute the problem to a perfect storm: a skyrocketing demand for houses during and just following the pandemic, the millennial generation\u2019s entry into the housing market, and rising mortgage rates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">\u201cWhen inventory levels fall, the lower price point feels more of the squeeze because it\u2019s the price point that more people can afford,\u201d explains Hannah Jones, senior economist at realtor.com. \u201cOnce mortgage rates rise, more buyers get funneled into that lower end.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Those higher rates are also forcing families currently in starter homes to delay moving to larger properties, compounding the shortage of entry-level options.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">\u201cIt\u2019s remarkable just how severely that $300,000 and under section of the market has compressed,\u201d says Jones, noting that in 2016, nearly 61 percent of active listings were priced at $300,000 or below. Meanwhile, from January to April 2026, $300,000 homes accounted for just 31 percent of the market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Laxer zoning policies, Jones notes, may provide some relief by, say, promoting new construction on smaller lots, which would increase density and supply, and offer more options for buyers. But digging our way out of the problem is a long-term solution. For committed buyers now, the market is forcing creative measures, with some choosing tiny homes, opting for real estate in less expensive markets, or joining forces with friends or family to purchase multiunit dwellings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">\u201cBuyers are still buying homes. Obviously, they\u2019re much slower paced than during the pandemic or even pre-pandemic, but they\u2019re finding ways to make it happen,\u201d says Jones. \u201cBy and large, people consider homeownership to still be a significant part of the American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"BlockquoteEmbedWrapper-sc-eRToSp fRmFte paywall blockquote-embed\" data-testid=\"blockquote-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"BlockquoteEmbedContent-hsbhfe kttZMM blockquote-embed__content\">\n<p><em>This story is part of<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/tag\/future-of-home\/\" class=\"text link\">The Future of Home<\/a><em>, a collaboration between the editors of<\/em> WIRED <em>and<\/em> Architectural Digest <em>to help you understand what \u201chome\u201d will look like tomorrow and beyond.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"paywall\">The Corporate Landlord Experience<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paywall\">While sales prices have increased disproportionately, renting remains a more accessible option in much of the country. That relative affordability is prompting some would-be buyers to sign leases instead, a more attainable but often deeply frustrating solution, and one that leaves them unable to accumulate wealth at the pace their parents\u2019 and grandparents\u2019 generations did.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">\u201cIt feels like we should be investing in a home and building equity, and having that going into retirement, but that\u2019s just not even an option for us,\u201d says Mike Odom, 45.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/what-happened-to-the-starter-home\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After several exasperating Zillow searches through Portland, Oregon\u2019s increasingly expensive housing market, Gaby Col\u00f3n and Daniel Quebral scrapped their plans for a traditional home and embraced the open road, buying a 315-square-foot home on wheels. \u201cRent is crazy right now, and housing prices are even worse,\u201d Col\u00f3n says. \u201cWe just wanted to get out of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[751,570,750],"class_list":["post-2241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-architecture","tag-housing","tag-the-future-of-home"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Death of the Starter Home - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Buying a first house used to mark entry into adulthood\u2014and the beginning of wealth-building. 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