The Next Playbook: Bringing Back The Starter Home

Written By National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders

Starter homes have long been the first rung on the homeownership ladder—modest, affordable homes that give first-time buyers an entry point to building wealth. Today, that first rung is nearly gone.

This brief, authored by Center Senior Fellow Julia Gordon and NAAHL’s Aaron Shroyer, examines five converging trends behind the starter home shortage and lays out a five-part federal policy framework—BUILD more starter homes, REPAIR existing homes, EXPAND allowable home types, FREE UP supply, and FIRST DIBS for homeowners—to help bring them back. It also identifies two immediate actions Congress and the Administration can take today.

This brief is the first in The Next Playbook series, part of the Center’s Housing Supply Research & Fellowship Program, made possible with support from the Citi Foundation.

download the policy brief (PDF)
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National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders

NAAHL is the only national alliance of banks, CDFIs, and other capital providers dedicated to expanding economic opportunity by financing affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization. NAAHL has worked to advance responsible community reinvestment, fight predatory lending, and strengthen public-private partnerships.

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