Starter homes accounted for 36.2% of active U.S. housing listings in August 2026, down from 38.1% in August 2019, according to Realtor.com data reported by Fox Business. Over the same period, the average starter-home price rose from about $260,000 to $340,000, a 30.8% increase.
The Realtor.com analysis defines a starter home as one priced at roughly 80% of a metro area’s median list price. The report estimated that the national inventory would include more than 21,000 additional homes at starter-home prices if the 2019 share had persisted.
The composition of that inventory also shifted. Condominiums made up 18% of starter-priced listings in August 2019, compared with 27.1% for condos and townhomes combined in August 2026, the report said.
Among the 100 largest U.S. metro areas, Boise recorded the biggest increase in starter homes’ share of the local market from 2019 to 2026, rising 4.7 percentage points, according to the analysis. Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, followed with a 4-point gain. Des Moines rose 3.7 points, San Jose 2.9 points and Denver 2.5 points.
The largest declines were concentrated in Southern markets. Columbia, South Carolina, had the steepest drop, at 8.3 percentage points. Winston-Salem, North Carolina, fell 7.5 points, while Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida, declined 6.9 points. Augusta, Georgia-South Carolina, was down 6.5 points. Fresno, California, and Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina, each declined 6 points.
The figures describe the share of listings meeting Realtor.com’s price-based definition; they do not measure the total number of homes available in each metro area.
