The death of the beginning of the house

After several disgruntled While Zillow researched the increasingly expensive housing market in Portland, Oregon, Gabe Colon and Daniel Kibral scrapped their plans to build a traditional home and embraced the open road, purchasing a 315-square-foot house on wheels.

“Rents are crazy right now, and housing prices are even worse,” Colon says. “We just wanted to get out of the rat race, and we wanted stability.”

Colon, 27, and Quebral, 33, are part of a startling trend — educated, employed Americans struggling to afford a home, a goal made more difficult than ever by the swelling housing market. Nishu Sood, director of housing research and consulting firm John Burns, points out that in the decade since 2015, inflation rose by 37%, income rose by 45%, and the cost of buying a home rose by a whopping 115% (by comparison, renting an apartment rose by 43%). The national median price of a starter home was $292,950 in 2024, up from $190,559 in 2019, according to Realtor.com.

With housing costs far outstripping wages, starter homes – typically defined as homes priced in the bottom third of the market – have become increasingly out of reach. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average age of first-time buyers has reached 40, a troubling sign that one of the traditional markers of adulthood is being postponed.

Analysts attribute the problem to a perfect storm: surging demand for homes during and immediately after the pandemic, millennials entering the housing market, and rising mortgage rates.

“When inventory levels decline, the lower price point feels more pressure because it is the price point that more people can afford,” explains Hannah Jones, chief economist at realtor.com. “Once mortgage rates go up, more buyers are drawn to that minimum.”

These high rates are also forcing families currently in starter homes to delay moving to larger properties, exacerbating the shortage of entry level options.

“It’s striking how severely $300,000 or less squeezes out of the market,” says Jones, noting that in 2016, nearly 61 percent of active listings were priced at $300,000 or less. Meanwhile, from January to April 2026, homes worth $300,000 made up just 31% of the market.

Jones points out that lenient zoning policies might provide some relief, for example, by encouraging new construction on smaller lots, which would increase density and width, and offer more options to buyers. But digging our way out of the problem is a long-term solution. For committed buyers now, the market is forcing creative measures, with some opting for smaller homes, opting for properties in less expensive markets, or teaming up with friends or family to purchase multi-unit residences.

“Buyers are still buying homes. Obviously, the pace of buying is much slower than it was during the pandemic or even pre-pandemic, but they are finding ways to make it happen,” Jones says. “By and large, people consider homeownership to still be an important part of the American dream.”

This story is part of The future of the housea collaboration between editors Wired and Architectural abstract To help you understand what “home” will look like tomorrow and beyond.

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While sales prices have risen disproportionately, renting is still a more accessible option in most parts of the country. This relative affordability prompts some potential buyers to sign leases instead, a more achievable but often very frustrating solution, leaving them unable to accumulate wealth at the pace their parents’ and grandparents’ generations did.

“It feels like we should invest in a house, build equity, and then retire, but that’s not an option for us,” says Mike Odom, 45.