Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a millennial (35). I can only speak for myself, but DH and I were great little savers as youngins and saved up a down payment and built/purchased our home when I was 24. We built a 3/2.5 1500sqft, wayyy out in the burbs. Dream home? Probably not, but plenty of space for us. I don’t see us moving, like ever. If anything I’d want to downsize and move closer to the city. So idk, I didn’t want to buy an apartment, then a condo, then a house. I’d have rather waited longer to save up, so I get where people in the article are coming from.

I also think there is something to be said for our generation, you were lucky to meet your person early and have like-minded goals. I am jealous! I am similar age, didn't meet my husband until 27, married at 31, feels like we are so behind the 8-ball in our starter 1300sf 2 bedroom ranch in a great school district. Sigh.

We were really lucky I think! However, we bought our house before we were married. Very risky, and I saw it go south for a friend of mine.

I also don’t want to move (or “move up”) because our mortgage is so low. Our salaries have over doubled since we bought, so it’s a very reasonable % of our take home. My MIL is constantly making comments about us not “moving up” or “upgrading”, but they are double mortgaged and struggling so I take those comments with a grain of salt 🙄

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a millennial (35). I can only speak for myself, but DH and I were great little savers as youngins and saved up a down payment and built/purchased our home when I was 24. We built a 3/2.5 1500sqft, wayyy out in the burbs. Dream home? Probably not, but plenty of space for us. I don’t see us moving, like ever. If anything I’d want to downsize and move closer to the city. So idk, I didn’t want to buy an apartment, then a condo, then a house. I’d have rather waited longer to save up, so I get where people in the article are coming from.

I also think there is something to be said for our generation, you were lucky to meet your person early and have like-minded goals. I am jealous! I am similar age, didn't meet my husband until 27, married at 31, feels like we are so behind the 8-ball in our starter 1300sf 2 bedroom ranch in a great school district. Sigh.

You did not need a husband to do this I did not, buy my friend at 24 bought his dream house in his dream neighborhood. He bought a house with a tenant in it already, kept tenant, lived at home till 30. He got married and actually they moved to apartment till second one born then kicked out tenants and moved in at 44 to a paid off home. I wish I did that.

Anonymous wrote:Rather than climb the ladder we will wait for the forever big home. Sorry please tear down those little homes and ensure you provide recently renovated or new larger homes

https://www.newsweek.com/gen-z-millennials-dont-want-buy-starter-homes-2069778

Not every person wants a big house.

Unrealistic expectations. I live in a big house in an expensive neighborhood.

But I lived at home or with roommates 29. I then bought a one bedroom coop I lived in till 38 when I bought a smarter home in poor condition in an average area. Then at 55 I bought my big trade up home

I get my kids and nieces and nephews who are like I want a home like that I will never be able to afford it.

But they dont want to do property ladder thing or do sweat equity. So they need big jobs or big stock gains or marry rich to jump right to top. My one nephew just married very rich so he is doing that But for the normal person that is not a strategy

Anonymous wrote:I’m a millennial (35). I can only speak for myself, but DH and I were great little savers as youngins and saved up a down payment and built/purchased our home when I was 24. We built a 3/2.5 1500sqft, wayyy out in the burbs. Dream home? Probably not, but plenty of space for us. I don’t see us moving, like ever. If anything I’d want to downsize and move closer to the city. So idk, I didn’t want to buy an apartment, then a condo, then a house. I’d have rather waited longer to save up, so I get where people in the article are coming from.

I also think there is something to be said for our generation, you were lucky to meet your person early and have like-minded goals. I am jealous! I am similar age, didn't meet my husband until 27, married at 31, feels like we are so behind the 8-ball in our starter 1300sf 2 bedroom ranch in a great school district. Sigh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are these smaller starter homes?

I live in 22181-Vienna- and the original mid1950s “starter” homes in 22180 are disappearing monthly - all being razed with enormous homes replacing.

Even a vintage Vienna Woods house is selling for 850k+

There are plenty of starter homes in places that you are not willing to live. https://redf.in/uUlxmm
This house is near the VRE. It has an easy commute to DC and Alexandria.

Way to miss the point. That’s not a “starter home” for a family with two working parents with DC jobs that want to send their kids to decent schools. That’s a non-starter home.

We have a 900 foot house. We make it work.

^ Sorry, typo -- gen x, not z.

Anonymous wrote:Millennials are age 29-44 at this point. They are quickly aging out of started home territory. Most of them already own homes, so this article is misleading and not very accurate.

I'm Gen Z and we couldn't buy our starter home until we were 31, and then didn't buy our current home until 40. My parents, who are silent generation, were in their starter home until they were 35 (and then only were able to move up because my dad did a lot of the construction himself.)

Anonymous wrote:My parent's "starter home" in Leesburg just sold for $990k. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/220-Queen-St-NE-Leesburg-VA-20176/12408796_zpid/

They bought it in the 90s for around $140k. They sold it in 2005 after I graduated HS and built a house outside of Richmond.

I live in Leesburg with my own family and noticed the house had a Coming Soon sign when I went to drop off my kid at her friend's house nearby. I looked up the house and couldn't believe it was now going for almost $1mil. A lot of improvements have been made since I lived there as a kid, but still...the house seemed SO small growing up (fam of 5) and it is old (built in the 20s).

As a comparison, an empty lot 1 street over was purchased and had 2 new homes built on it. Each of those homes just sold for just slightly over $1mil. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/210-Catoctin-Cir-NE-Leesburg-VA-20176/338416888_zpid/ and https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/208-Catoctin-Cir-NE-Leesburg-VA-20176/12408332_zpid/.

If I was on the market, I would not pay almost $1mil for a 1920s house when I could get a new build for ~$50k more.

Starter homes are now condos, really. The pipeline now seems to go apartment (single) > condo (married, no kids) > townhome (married w/ kid) > home (forever home). I know so many people who bought a condo or townhome and lived in them for years before they were able to buy a home, and they have stayed in those homes rather than using them as "starter homes."

Arguably this is still in starter home territory. A dual income couple should be able to afford this.

I’m a millennial (35). I can only speak for myself, but DH and I were great little savers as youngins and saved up a down payment and built/purchased our home when I was 24. We built a 3/2.5 1500sqft, wayyy out in the burbs. Dream home? Probably not, but plenty of space for us. I don’t see us moving, like ever. If anything I’d want to downsize and move closer to the city. So idk, I didn’t want to buy an apartment, then a condo, then a house. I’d have rather waited longer to save up, so I get where people in the article are coming from.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are millennials and bought a forever home

I'm a Millennial married to an Xer and we knew a decade ago not to buy a starter home. Why in this market would I want to pay realtor fees on upgrading when I could save that money for my kids' college tuitions? Why would I take on another mortgage when I paid off the one I have?

We stayed in our starter house and saved. Easier solution.

I mean our "forever home" is a 4 br, 3 ba, 1600 sq foot home we shove our five person family into. It fits us, but it's tight.

starter homes dont have four bedrooms and three baths. My house I grew up a family of six was a starter home had three bedrooms and one bath. 1,200 sf on a 40x100 plot.

Your house in that neighborhood would be called an Executive home My neighbors next block who were rich lawyers and doctors had the 1,600 sf models.

It goes to show how much home sizes have increased over last 50-80 years

This sounds horrific and I grew up in the city. What happened if anyone had stomach flu? How did you get ready in the morning? Even a simple shower takes at least 10 minutes, then also add flossing, shaving etc.

You shower night before. No one flossed. And I brushed my teeth over kitchen sink plenty. No one shaved as we were kids. My Dad left for work early before we got up and Mom went in while we were at school.

Here is History of house.
First owner paid 3k for plot in 1918 and had house built 2023 for 3k Cost 6.5K
Parents Bought house for 36k in 1973 in estate sale. Around 6x prior owner price.
We sold it estate sale in 2003 for 550K around 15x our purchase price.
Sold in 2011 for 700K
Sold in 2018 for 840k
Sold in 2023 for 980K

it now has an added 1.2 bath on first floor in tiny pantry area and a finished basement.

But to be honest I think it is cheaper today than was in the past. The couple who bought in 1918 the plot their kids told us they go married in 1918 and was already saving for two years living at home and took that and wedding money to buy plot with a little bit of financing. They then both worked full time in a tiny run down cold water walk up apartment in the lower east side which was a slum at the time for 5 years to buy house of of sears catalogue where they had to do a lot of work themselves.

Now people in parents old house just put 5 percent down, finance and hold house 5-10 years and cash out to buy a mcmansion. No longer a house for life. Thats real reason starter home prices shot up. People view it as a get rich scheme.

Anonymous wrote:My parent's "starter home" in Leesburg just sold for $990k. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/220-Queen-St-NE-Leesburg-VA-20176/12408796_zpid/

They bought it in the 90s for around $140k. They sold it in 2005 after I graduated HS and built a house outside of Richmond.

I live in Leesburg with my own family and noticed the house had a Coming Soon sign when I went to drop off my kid at her friend's house nearby. I looked up the house and couldn't believe it was now going for almost $1mil. A lot of improvements have been made since I lived there as a kid, but still...the house seemed SO small growing up (fam of 5) and it is old (built in the 20s).

As a comparison, an empty lot 1 street over was purchased and had 2 new homes built on it. Each of those homes just sold for just slightly over $1mil. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/210-Catoctin-Cir-NE-Leesburg-VA-20176/338416888_zpid/ and https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/208-Catoctin-Cir-NE-Leesburg-VA-20176/12408332_zpid/.

If I was on the market, I would not pay almost $1mil for a 1920s house when I could get a new build for ~$50k more.

Starter homes are now condos, really. The pipeline now seems to go apartment (single) > condo (married, no kids) > townhome (married w/ kid) > home (forever home). I know so many people who bought a condo or townhome and lived in them for years before they were able to buy a home, and they have stayed in those homes rather than using them as "starter homes."

Same. My parents’ “starter home” purchased in the late 70s on an associate professor’s single income now is worth $1.5 mil. lol. The starter home is dead.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are these smaller starter homes?

I live in 22181-Vienna- and the original mid1950s “starter” homes in 22180 are disappearing monthly - all being razed with enormous homes replacing.

Even a vintage Vienna Woods house is selling for 850k+

There are plenty of starter homes in places that you are not willing to live. https://redf.in/uUlxmm
This house is near the VRE. It has an easy commute to DC and Alexandria.

Way to miss the point. That’s not a “starter home” for a family with two working parents with DC jobs that want to send their kids to decent schools. That’s a non-starter home.

Starter homes aren't for families. They're for single people or DINKS to buy. And maybe you'll stay in your starter home for your first kid, but you buy a forever home by the time all your kids are born. It's 10000x easier to save without kids.

Look, I don’t think it ever made financial sense to buy a house and assume it would appreciate enough to sell in 5 years. And it makes even less sense now.

Moving and buying a home is such a hassle and so expensive I hope to never, ever do it again. Husband and I managed to save up and buy a house at 32 and I love it. I don't care if I can afford a bigger house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are these smaller starter homes?

I live in 22181-Vienna- and the original mid1950s “starter” homes in 22180 are disappearing monthly - all being razed with enormous homes replacing.

Even a vintage Vienna Woods house is selling for 850k+

There are plenty of starter homes in places that you are not willing to live. https://redf.in/uUlxmm
This house is near the VRE. It has an easy commute to DC and Alexandria.

Way to miss the point. That’s not a “starter home” for a family with two working parents with DC jobs that want to send their kids to decent schools. That’s a non-starter home.

Starter homes aren't for families. They're for single people or DINKS to buy. And maybe you'll stay in your starter home for your first kid, but you buy a forever home by the time all your kids are born. It's 10000x easier to save without kids.

Look, I don’t think it ever made financial sense to buy a house and assume it would appreciate enough to sell in 5 years. And it makes even less sense now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are these smaller starter homes?

I live in 22181-Vienna- and the original mid1950s “starter” homes in 22180 are disappearing monthly - all being razed with enormous homes replacing.

Even a vintage Vienna Woods house is selling for 850k+

There are plenty of starter homes in places that you are not willing to live. https://redf.in/uUlxmm
This house is near the VRE. It has an easy commute to DC and Alexandria.

Way to miss the point. That’s not a “starter home” for a family with two working parents with DC jobs that want to send their kids to decent schools. That’s a non-starter home.

Millennial here, I don't think you understand the concept of a starter home. If you're a millennial as well you're exactly the kind of millennial that is giving the rest of us a bad name.

A starter home is just that - the bottom rung of the property ladder. It's what you can afford at the very beginning, not what you want once you've got school-aged kids. You get the small, outdated house in a bad school district as DINKs in your 20s or early 30s, you cash out the equity for a place in a good elementary school district once you've had a kid and they're 4 or 5, and you do it again in middle or high school and hopefully along the way you've built enough equity and advanced enough in your careers to end up in your dream home.

I get that it sucks that generations before us were able to get houses in good neighborhoods as starter homes, and I absolutely wish we could have even just the same opportunities the boomers had, but that's simply not reality. Unless you're a dual income biglaw/tech couple it's just not feasible in 2025 for regular joe white collar couples to have a starter home in a great neighborhood no matter how much you sacrifice on size or condition.

You’re just saying exactly what I said. There is no such thing as a “starter home.” And I don’t actually think people in the olden days actually planned to move every 5 years.