The Million Dollar Starter Home.
As U.S. housing costs continue to climb, 242 cities across the country now have "starter homes" costing at least $1 million, according to Zillow.
The number of metropolitan areas with basic homes worth at least seven figures has tripled since 2020, the real estate firm said in a new analysis. Zillow defines a starter home as one in the lowest third of home values in a given region.
Home prices surged during the pandemic as a housing shortage collided with strong demand and historically low mortgage rates.
"The pandemic reset the cost of buying a home, spreading million-dollar starter homes from a handful of coastal states to more than two dozen states across the country," Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow, said in a statement.
To be sure, the typical starter home still costs far less than $1 million at just under $199,000, Zillow noted. Overall, the median home costs nearly $418,000, according to the National Association of Realtors.
By
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News
Housing in America is a pricey subject with many American totally locked into renting as prices soar. The path to the American dream is increasingly unaffordable with many stuck in the parents’ basements or living with relatives as a result, leaving many feeling left out of the broader society. High interest rates are another big reason the cost to entry is so elevated with no end in sight to that either due to inflationary concerns.
