starter home/house

noun

: a first home
This small house would make a great starter home/house for a young couple.

Examples of starter home/house in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Pittsburgh is the only major U.S. metropolitan area where a starter home still costs less than renting, according to a new study by Realtor.com, after years of price increases have caused homeownership to become unaffordable to many Americans. Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 July 2025 For 25–34-year-olds, owning a starter home now costs more than 50% of average income, compared to just under 39% for renting. Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 July 2025 Finding a starter home in today's housing market can be tougher than tracking down Bigfoot. Randy Tucker, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 Lawmakers eliminated $60 million in funding for a major starter home initiative proposed by Lee, and yanked $35 million from another high-profile effort to regionalize conservation of the Duck River, which Lee touted during his annual State of the State address. Vivian Jones, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025 Zillow defines a starter home as one that falls into the lowest third of Zillow estimates of home values for an area. Randy Tucker, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 Despite these site constraints, the house is an ideal starter home: big enough for the young man and a future partner to live comfortably on the family plot. Rusty Smith, The Conversation, 11 June 2025 Kayley Guerra, 31, said Wednesday the family moved into the home in early February from their first starter home in Joliet. Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2025 Context: The high figure is not surprising in a state where the largest metro area requires people to earn six figures to afford a typical starter home, far above the national average. Esteban L. Hernandez, Axios, 16 Dec. 2024

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Starter home/house.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/starter%20home%2Fhouse. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!