Who Killed the Starter Home?

By Marina Rubina

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Image by Marina Rubina

Category: Design

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Episodes: 83

Description

Have you seen any starter homes for sale lately? Neither have we. In this podcast, we speak with experts and try to figure out why this humble first home is going extinct. We’ll be exploring if it is the politicians, wielding zoning laws like a murder weapon who killed the starter home? Or maybe the scaredy-cat planners and designers? Or the developers, armed with cookie-cutter plans and corporate indifference? Is it our convoluted tax policy that subsidies homeownership, but puts every tax penalty in the way of creation of the starter homes. Spoiler alert: it’s probably a little of everything. We’ll be peeling back the layers of bureaucracy, bad faith, and bad planning, with stops along the way for affordable housing scandals, ADU success stories, and a passionate plea for building code updates. Join us for a conversation that’s part policy deep-dive, part therapy session for frustrated builders, and entirely a love letter to cities that deserve better.

Episode Date
Small Lots, Big Difference. Townhomes Work Everywhere. Conversation with Dominic Behrens
Sep 18, 2026
Homelessness Is Solvable. We Have Proof. Conversation with Raisa Rubin-Stankiewicz
Sep 11, 2026
Fear of Others Moving In. Conversation with Tara Paxton
Sep 04, 2026
The Regulations Are a Smashing Success, Yet New Jersey Is Still Segregated. Conversation with David Kinsey
Aug 28, 2026
We Built New Towns Before. Why Not Again? Conversation with Justin Hollander
Aug 21, 2026
A Thousand Small Fixes That Might Actually Work. Conversation with Jack Farrell.
Aug 14, 2026
Spanish Colonial Meets State Pro-Housing Laws in Santa Barbara, CA. Conversation with Ellen Bildsten
Aug 07, 2026
Zoning Is Theft. The Set-Aside Is the Windfall Tax. Conversation with Creigh Rahenkamp
Jul 31, 2026
The YIMBY Recipe: Clarity and Carrots. Conversation with Jack Farrell
Jul 24, 2026
Claiming the Designer's Seat at the Developer's Table. Conversation with Christopher Calott
Jul 17, 2026
Calibrating Caution and Unlocking Housing Choices. Conversation with Andrew Burleson
Jul 10, 2026
The Data is In: Inclusionary Zoning is Killing Starter Homes. Conversation with Jason Sorens
Jul 03, 2026
Dating like an Architect: Will You Design a House with Me? Conversation with Orange Made Architecture
Jun 26, 2026
Why is Post-Disaster Money the Only Tool That Works? Conversation with Randi Moore
Jun 19, 2026
Housing Boards:The Helpful, the Unhelpful, and the fun!
Jun 12, 2026
Stitching the Sprawl: Reclaiming Our Streets. Conversation with John Surico
Jun 05, 2026
You Can’t Afford NOT Having Community Engagement. Conversation with Merilee Meacock
May 29, 2026
A Tangled Mess of Rules: Is the time right for reform? Conversation with Silvia Del Fava
May 22, 2026
What if the Housing Crisis is Intentional? Conversation with Ricardo Flores
May 15, 2026
Marrying Activism and Finance to Uplift the "Worst Off". Conversation with Mike Anderson
May 08, 2026
Is Technology the Silver Bullet? Conversation with Sujit Singh
May 01, 2026
From Undocumented Roots to the Mayor’s Office to Congress?
Apr 24, 2026
Will a "Tell-It-Like-It-Is" Approach Work in Washington? Conversation with Raymond Heck
Apr 17, 2026
Doctor and Mayor: Don’t Leave it to Amateurs. Conversation with Brad Cohen
Apr 10, 2026
Progress, Not Perfection: The Entrepreneur in Politics. Conversation with Squire Servance
Apr 03, 2026
When a Scientist Takes on Politics. Conversation with Sam Wang
Mar 27, 2026
Service Above All: The Heart to Do Right by the People. Conversation with Shanel Robinson
Mar 20, 2026
Why and How Democrats Must Deliver. Conversation with Sue Altman
Mar 13, 2026
The Courage to Challenge Democratic Inaction. Conversation with Kyle Little.
Mar 06, 2026
From Trenton's Struggles to Dreaming Forward. Conversation with Elijah Dixon
Feb 27, 2026
New Energy for a New Generation: A Conversation with Jay Vaingankar, (NJ congressional district 12 candidate)
Feb 20, 2026
Welcoming A Plane Full of New Neighbors Every Day. Conversation with Teresa Goldstein
Feb 13, 2026
How the American Dream Got Stuck. Conversation with Yoni Appelbaum
Feb 06, 2026
Homelessness Is a Housing Problem. Conversation with Gregg Colburn
Jan 30, 2026
If Lawmakers Won't Act, Voters Will. Conversation with Andrew Mikula.
Jan 23, 2026
Stop Pretending All Solutions are Equal. Conversation with Luca Gattoni-Celli
Jan 16, 2026
Avoiding Conflict Does Not Build Consensus, Conversation with Casey Anderson
Jan 09, 2026
Sustainability Starts With Flexibility. Conversation with Taizo Yamamoto
Jan 02, 2026
Communism, Consumerism, and Rules that Make No Sense.
Dec 26, 2025
The Market Is Screaming. Zoning Isn’t Listening. Conversation with Mike Hathorne
Dec 19, 2025
How States Actually Make Housing Happen - Conversation with Elmer Moore, Jr.
Dec 12, 2025
Imperfect and Incomplete: And Better for It. Conversation with Benjamin Schneider
Dec 05, 2025
Sacred Places with Flexible Spaces. Conversation with Pastor Mark Elsdon
Nov 28, 2025
Slime Mold Urbanism: Let People Make Mistakes, conversation with Anthony Mattacchione and Raphael Kay
Nov 21, 2025
The Real Climate Solution: Agency, Not Fear & Doom. Conversation with Alex Margulis
Nov 14, 2025
Want to Fix Housing? Start with A Happy Hour - conversation with Ned Resnikoff
Nov 07, 2025
A House for Mom, Flexibility for All! Conversation with Carrie Shores Diller
Oct 31, 2025
NIMBYism isn't a Phylosophy, YIMBYism IS! Conversation with Bryan Caplan
Oct 24, 2025
The $500,000 Gamble: Why We Need Legislative Change. Conversation with Kevin J. Moore
Oct 17, 2025
Reports Don't Build Homes, Leaders Do. Conversation with Ryan Fecteau.
Oct 10, 2025
Neighborhood Creation by Immaculate Conception or Careful Curation? Conversation with Seth Zeren
Oct 03, 2025
Small Is Mighty: Boutique Retail Reviving Cities. Conversation with Edie Weintraub
Sep 26, 2025
Catalyst in Action: Building Capacity, Leading the Way. Conversation with Desmond Dunn
Sep 19, 2025
Not a Bubble, Just Demand - Conversation with Salim Furth
Sep 12, 2025
Unstoppable: Housing Reformer with a Newborn - Conversation with Rashi Kesarwani
Sep 05, 2025
Vision or Vandalism? When Development Erases Art - Conversation with Leon Rainbow
Aug 29, 2025
Do NOT Sell Grandma's Home! conversation with Shaheed Morris
Aug 22, 2025
Redefining Luxury: Walkability, History, and Community - Conversation with John Hatch
Aug 16, 2025
Want a City That Works? Give a Damn! Conversation with Sean Jackson
Aug 08, 2025
Bedroom Community to True Community, Conversation with Roland Pott
Aug 01, 2025
Is NIMBYism Hypocrisy? Conversation with Christopher Chowton
Jul 25, 2025
You Get What You Tax For - conversation with Joe Small
Jul 18, 2025
The Government IS Working, conversation with Commissioner Jacquelyn Suárez of NJ DCA
Jul 11, 2025
After-Renovation Value Financing - Conversation with Skip Schenker
Jul 04, 2025
We ARE building starter homes! Conversation with Kol Peterson
Jun 27, 2025
We can bring the cost down! Conversation with Aaron Holm
Jun 20, 2025
Housing SOS: Conversation with Shane Phillips
Jun 13, 2025
Policy That Helps Us Evolve: Conversation with Natali Fani-Gonzalez
Jun 06, 2025
Land Value Tax - Conversation with Daryl Fairweather
May 30, 2025
What is your American Dream? Conversation with Christian Calderon
May 16, 2025
Is Sustainable Affordable? Conversation with Matt Kaplan
May 09, 2025
Legalizing Cities: Conversation with Burhan Azeem
May 02, 2025
Gentrification: Hopeful and Practical Solutions Conversation with Iziah Thomspon
Apr 25, 2025
Theory and Practice of Changing People's Minds, conversation with Matt Mleczko
Apr 18, 2025
Caught between Institutional Investors and NIMBYs, conversation with Katie Brennan
Apr 11, 2025
What millennials are NOT willing to sacrifice, conversation with Peter Dennehy
Apr 04, 2025
The Market Has No Feelings, conversation with Joshua Wilton
Mar 28, 2025
Fear of School Children and Snob Zoning, conversation with Richard Kahlenberg
Mar 21, 2025
NIMBYs and American Liberalism, conversation with Jacob Anbinder
Mar 13, 2025
Homeowners in Progressive Cities, conversation with Randy Shaw
Mar 07, 2025
Radical Growth that killed trust, conversation with Edward Erfurt of Strong Towns
Feb 28, 2025
Home Rule and Condo Regulations, Conversation with Deb Tantleff
Feb 21, 2025
Attack on small, creative local. Conversation with Aaron Lubeck
Feb 02, 2025