Affordable Starter Homes Are Still a Reality in These Top Cities for Flexible First-Time Buyers

While starter homes are increasingly hard to come by nationally, a handful of affordable markets— overwhelmingly concentrated in the Midwest—offer first-time buyers a healthy and diverse selection of entry-level properties.So what exactly is considered a starter home? Realtor.com® economists define this type of real estate as a dwelling listed at or below 80% of its metro's median list price for a specific time period.The typical starter home is relatively small and modest in features, representing the first rung on the property ladder that offers budget-conscious first-time buyers an entry point into homeownership.At the national level, the share of starter homes has shrunk from 38.1% to 36.2% of active inventory over the past seven years, even as the median price surged from $260,000 to $340,000, according to a new Realtor.com report.In other words, there are roughly 21,000 fewer starter homes available now than there were in 2019, and they are more than 30% more expensive than before. To identify local starter-home trends, Realtor.com researchers analyzed listing data across the 8,300 ZIP codes in the 100 largest U.S. metros, revealing where shoppers can still find entry-level p...