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Starter homes are increasingly scarce across the country compared to pre-pandemic inventory levels, although some metro areas across the country have greater 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 the price of starter homes rose 30.8% during that time from about $260,000 to $340,000.
A report by Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones notes that the difference in inventory is a gap of more than 21,000 homes that would be the starting price today if the 2019 stock remains steady so far. Starter homes are defined in the report as costing about 80% of the metro’s median list price. They are generally smaller and more accessible to first-time buyers or less affluent buyers.
Compared to the pre-pandemic housing market, condominiums also play a larger role in the starter housing segment relative to single-family homes.
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The inventory of starter homes has declined as a share of the national housing market, although Realtor.com found some metros have seen increases since 2019. (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
As of August 2019, condos accounted for 18% of the initial price inventory nationwide, with the rest being single-family homes.
That figure rises to 20% in 2022 and continues to rise to 27.1% of starter homes becoming condominiums or townhouses by August 2026.
The nation’s 100 largest metro areas saw significant differences in how the share of starter homes in their respective markets varied from 2019 to 2026.
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Starter homes are generally less expensive, and Realtor.com rates homes around 80% below the local median price. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
While the share of starter homes has declined in the national housing market since 2019, some metro areas have made gains since then.
Boise, Idaho, made the biggest gains in the starter home segment of the metro area housing market, with a 4.7% increase from August 2019 to August 2026.
The second largest gains among the top 100 metro areas were in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, with increases of 4% each.
Rounded out the five largest gains at the start of the home show were Des Moines, Iowa, with 3.7%; San Jose, Calif., rose 2.9%; and Denver, Colorado, with a 2.5% gain.
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The inventory of starter homes has declined in several metro areas in the Sunbelt region. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Metros in the Sun Belt region have yet to see their home inventory recover to pre-pandemic levels, with some leading the list for the biggest declines through 2026.
Metro Columbia, South Carolina, saw its share of starter homes drop 8.3% from 2019 to 2026, marking the largest percentage decline in the state over that period.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, had a population decline of 7.5%, while Cape Coral and Fort Myers, Florida, fell by 6.9%; and Augusta and Richmond County in Georgia and South Carolina fell 6.5%.
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The only metro outside of the South to rank in the top five for the largest decline in home inventory was Fresno, Caliornia, where it declined 6% — similar to declines in Greensboro and High Point, North Carolina.