Are Starter Homes Still Relevant? We Asked an Agent

24.09.2024 - 15:33 / bhg.com / Lauren Phillips

Does location still matter most? Should you remodel your home to suit your tastes, or for resale value? Are starter homes still a thing? We all have plenty of questions about the ever-changing world of real estate. In our Ask an Agentseries, we’re partnering with experts at Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate to answer your biggest questions about finding, buying, and selling a home.

First-time home buyers have long set their sights on what’s known as a starter home: A small-ish, moderately affordable house that buyers could afford in their twenties or thirties. While the exact definition of what qualifies as a starter home varies, for many, a starter home was modest and, importantly, affordable. It was also often a temporary spot, a way to get into the market at a low level—just a stopping point on the way to a move-up home or forever home. Many families only planned to stay in their starter home for a few years, until they were more established and able to afford something larger that could accommodate a growing family.

Today, the concept of the starter home is a little less certain. With a challenging housing market, spiking prices, and other factors making it harder and harder for the average buyer to find a house, many people are waiting longer to buy a home, choosing to rent until they’re able to afford a larger first home. Others who can’t find move-up or forever homes that meet their needs are snapping up starter homes and renovating or demolishing them to build homes that better suit them. Still more already have a starter home, but they’re unable to find (or afford) a larger move-up home, so they’re staying in their homes longer, reducing the number of starter homes for sale and available to first-time buyers.

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