Starter Homes in the DC Area Continue to Disappear

• September 21st 2016

by Nena Perry-Brown

Earlier this year, UrbanTurf reported that housing inventory has steadily decreased over the past four years both nationwide and in the DC area — especially where starter homes are concerned.

While starter homes have traditionally been an entry-point into putting down roots in an area, residents of the DC area can attest that the Trulia-defined segment for this type of home — a property priced for less than $280,000 — are scarce. And that point was only hit home by Trulia’s latest study.

The 3,897 active starter homes for sale in the DC area in the third quarter of 2016 is 18.8 percent lower than in the second quarter of 2015, according to the new study. As inventory drops, median prices for this property segment have risen 7.7 percent — from just below $200,000 in the third quarter of 2015 to $215,333 last quarter.

As prices for starter homes have increased, so too has the percentage of income needed to afford a home in this segment. The percentage of income needed to buy a starter home in the DC area now stands at 32 percent, up from 30 percent last year.

For the purposes of this study, Trulia used a combination of public records sales and Multiple Listing Services data.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/starter_homes_still_few_and_least_affordable_when_buying_in_the_dc_area/11701.