By Marcie Geffner - Bankrate
First-time home buyers might well wonder: Where are all the starter houses?
Indeed, such properties can seem scarce in many housing markets.
A few reasons:
- Investors have snapped up a lot of smaller houses and turned them into rental properties.
- Flippers have bought smaller homes and remodeled them so they're no longer within the reach of first-time buyers.
- Many current homeowners don't have enough equity to move or would rather add on to a smaller house than give up a low-rate mortgage.
- Builders have opted to construct pricier trade-up homes instead of affordable starters.
How long will this last?
The slow pace of new home construction suggests that the dearth of starter homes might continue for some time.
Read on:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/real-estate/finding-starter-home.aspx