Starter-home buyers face high prices and major repairs

First-time buyers are running into a difficult combination: steep listing prices and houses that need major work before they are comfortable to live in. The writer says his youngest daughter is searching for her first home, and nearly every property she sees requires substantial repairs. Some current owners bought their houses years ago with historically low long-term mortgage rates, which allowed them to borrow cheaply even as they paid high prices.

Looking back at his childhood neighborhood in Clifton, a suburb of Cincinnati, the writer found a different model for starter homes. Many houses south of Ludlow Avenue were under 1,000 square feet, yet families lived in them comfortably. His own home had two bedrooms and one bathroom upstairs, with the living room, dining room and kitchen below. Another home of the same outside size had three bedrooms and one-and-a-half bathrooms, while the 1,100-square-foot Kahlis house included a finished attic.

Those homes generally lacked large kitchens, generous closets, family rooms and attached two-car garages. Bathrooms could be only 5 by 7 feet, and residents often parked in driveways. The writer argues that new buyers may need to reconsider how much space and convenience they require, pointing to a 950-square-foot house as a workable option. He says small homes can be made to feel larger, remain easier to maintain and cost less, and says he would build more of them if he were still constructing houses every day.