Starter homes are scarce. But homebuyers can improve their odds
toggle caption Matt Rourke/AP
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Bidding wars may be cooling and mortgage rates could dip below 6% next year. But the shortage of "starter homes" — smaller, more affordable houses — continues to lock many would-be first-time buyers out of the market.
Gabriel Veasey, a reader in Central Texas, has children who live near Austin, Texas. They've been hunting for their first home but can't find anything affordable. He asked:
Why can't they have the opportunity to buy the starter homes – the two bedroom, $200,000 [home] that's just what they need, instead of a three [bed], two [bath] or four [bed], three [bath] home for $400,000 to $500,000 that's just not within their range? … Where can my kids go? Why can't they have that opportunity to find a starter home?
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The housing market in Austin mirrors what's happening across the country
The math doesn't work in their favor. The median income in Austin is about $134,000 — enough for a mortgage of roughly $350,000.
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