Starter Homes Remain Scarce: Sharp National Drop Amid Some Regional Resilience
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Starter homes have become increasingly scarce around the country relative to pre-pandemic inventory levels, though some metro areas around the country have a bigger supply for first-time home buyers.
A new analysis by Realtor.com found that the national share of starter homes fell from 38.1% of active inventory in August 2019 to 36.2% in August 2026, while starter home prices rose 30.8% in that period from about $260,000 to $340,000.
The report by Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones noted that the difference in inventory amounts to a gap of over 21,000 homes that would have been starter‑priced today if that 2019 share held steady to date. Starter homes are defined in the report as being priced at about 80 % of a metro’s median list price. They’re generally smaller and more accessible to first‑time buyers or less affluent purchasers.
Compared with the pre‑pandemic housing market, condos have also taken on a larger role within the starter home segment relative to single‑family homes.
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Starter home inventory has declined as a share of the national housing market, though Realtor.com found some metros have seen it rise since 2019.(Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In August 2019, condos comprised 18% of starter‑price inventory around the country, with the rest being single‑family homes. That figure rose to 20% by 2022 and continued to increase to 27.1% of starter homes being condos or townhomes in August 2026.
The 100 largest metro areas in the country saw significant differences in terms of how the share of starter homes in their respective markets evolved from 2019 to 2026.
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Starter homes are generally lower priced, and Realtor.com defined them as the tier of homes about 80% below the local median price.(Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
While the share of starter homes has declined in the housing market nationally since 2019, some metro areas have seen gains since then.
Boise, Idaho, saw the largest gain in the share of starter homes in the metro area’s housing market, with an increase of 4.7% from August 2019 to August 2026.
The second‑largest gain among the top 100 metro areas was in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, with an increase of 4%.
Rounding out the top five largest gains in starter home share were Des Moines, Iowa, with 3.7%; San Jose, California, saw an increase of 2.9%; and Denver, Colorado, with a 2.5% gain.
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