How Entry-Level Homes Got Bigger, Fancier and Harder To Afford
Ask three different generations what a starter home looks like and you will get three very different answers.
Your grandparents might picture a 2-bedroom bungalow with 1 bath, wood paneling and a carport. Your parents might think of a 3-bed, 1.5-bath ranch that needed wallpaper scraped and a deck added someday. A lot of today’s buyers walk into their first place looking for an en suite bath, walk-in closets, an attached garage and a kitchen that is already Instagram ready.
Starter homes have not disappeared in St. Louis, but the definition has shifted. The houses are bigger than they used to be, buyer wish lists are longer, and the relationship between prices and incomes has changed in ways that make entry-level homeownership feel tougher, even in one of the more affordable metros in the country.
Let’s unpack what actually changed.
How Big Were Yesterday’s Starter Homes?
Right after World War II, many first homes were compact by any modern standard. The typical postwar bungalow was often 800 to 1,000 square feet with 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and a simple floor plan designed for efficiency and affordability. They were built quickly for returning veterans and young families, and they were intentionally small to keep costs within reach of a single income.
By the 1970s and early 1980s, new homes had grown into the 1,500 to 1,700 square foot range. They were still modest compared to what came later, but noticeably larger than the postwar cottages. By 2010, the average new single-family home was close to 2,400 square feet. Census data shows the typical new home rising from about 1,660 square feet in 1973 to roughly 2,700 square feet by 2015, even though incomes did not grow at the same pace.
For St. Louis buyers, that history matters. Much of our entry-level housing stock still comes from the 1940s through 1960s, so you see many 1,000 to 1,400 square foot homes in the city and first-ring suburbs. At the same time, the national idea of what a normal home looks like has grown so much that these earlier homes can feel small to buyers who have only seen 2,000+ square foot new builds online.
The homes changed and our expectations changed with them.
What Features Were Included?
The old starter home was usually a project. Buyers expected to paint every room, live with dated cabinets for a while and maybe save up for central air, a second bath or a finished basement.
Today’s first-time buyers often have a different list. According to recent research from the National Association of Realtors, the typical home purchased is around 1,900 square feet and buyers care a lot about layout and updates, not just the room count. Common expectations in the St. Louis area now include:
- Updated or neutral kitchens and baths
• Central air as a non-negotiable
• An ensuite or at minimum a second full bath
• Off-street parking, preferably an attached garage
• Space for a home office or hybrid work
• Room for larger TVs, gaming setups and home gym equipment
None of these are unreasonable comforts. The challenge is that stacking all of them together at the entry level pushes buyers toward larger, newer or more heavily renovated homes. That is a different experience than the 1950s cape cod with 1 bath and a laundry hook-up in the basement that many earlier generations started in.
Who Is Actually Buying Their First Home Now?
Starter homes used to be associated with couples in their twenties. That is not the norm anymore.
NAR’s 2024 profile of buyers showed the typical first-time buyer at 38 years old. Newer data from mid 2025 put that median at 40, the oldest on record. First-time buyers also made up just 21 percent of transactions, which is roughly half the long-term historical average.
In real life, that means buyers spend more of their twenties and early thirties renting or doubling up with family or roommates. By the time they purchase, they often have higher incomes, more established careers and more specific expectations. Their starter home looks less like a stepping stone and more like a place they expect to stay for many years.
This shift in age and expectation is reflected in today’s longer list of buyer priorities.
What Happened To Affordability?
The other major shift is the math.
Research from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies shows that as of 2022 the median sale price for a single-family home was about 5.6 timesthe median household income, the highest ratio on record going back to the early 1970s. In 2019 that ratio was 4.1.
Another analysis comparing 1980 with 2023 found that the national price-to-income ratio nearly doubled from about 2.5 to 4.4. Buyers have access to lower down payment options today than previous generations had, but higher home prices and higher monthly payments still make affordability a real challenge for first-time buyers.
By late summer 2025, one long-running dataset tracking home prices versus median household income showed a national ratio around 7.0, compared to a historical average near 5.0 and a peak only rivaled during the mid-2000s housing boom.
So where does St. Louis fit into this.
A chart on StLouisRealEstateSearch.com compares local prices to personal income from the mid-1970s through today. The short version is that St. Louis tracked fairly well for decades which is a big reason this metro has a reputation for being more affordable. In recent years, prices have pulled ahead here too just like they have nationally.
The good news is that national studies still routinely rank St. Louis and Missouri as more attainable for first-time buyers than many coastal markets. One recent analysis pegged the average starter home in Missouri around $188,000, well below the national median starter price north of $430,000.
The hard news is that even our better-than-average affordability still feels tough when you are trying to keep total housing costs in a healthy range and incomes have not kept pace with price growth.
So What Counts As A Starter Home In St. Louis Now?
Given all of that, a modern starter home has less to do with granite and more to do with three practical questions.
Does the payment make sense as a percentage of your income.
Most households do well keeping principal, interest, taxes and insurance somewhere in the 25 to 30 percent of gross income range. The right number depends on debts, lifestyle and risk tolerance.
Is the house safe, sound and reasonably functional on day one.
You do not need perfection. You do need a solid roof, dry basement, safe electrical, working mechanicals and a floor plan that fits your life.
Does it give you room to grow your life or your equity.
That might mean an unfinished basement to finish later, a third bedroom you will eventually need or simply a location where equity grows steadily instead of chasing rising rents.
In St. Louis, that starter home might be a 1,000 to 1,400 square foot brick bungalow near a Metrolink stop, a small ranch with a big yard in a first-ring suburb, a tidy condo or townhouse that trades yard work for walkability or a slightly dated home that shows 1987 but has a great layout and good bones.
It probably does not look like the 2,400 square foot new build with every upgrade checked. And that is okay.
How Buyers Can Reset Expectations Without Giving Up Their Dreams
If you feel like the starter homes are out of reach, here are a few practical ways to reframe your search.
Focus on function over finishes.
Look for layout, light and location first. Paint and hardware can be updated over time.
Be realistic about commute and lifestyle.
Sometimes adjusting the location or rethinking which features are truly essential is what makes the numbers work.
Think in stages instead of forever.
You do not need your forever home. You need the right next step that builds equity and stability.
Use local data, not national headlines.
National averages do not buy homes in St. Louis. Looking at local prices paired with local incomes gives a much clearer picture of what is possible.
Starter homes have changed. They are larger on average than they used to be, buyers are older when they purchase them and the gap between home prices and incomes has widened over time. Yet in the St. Louis region there are still real paths into homeownership for first-time buyers who are willing to be flexible on size, finishes and location.
The key is to anchor expectations in facts and to work with someone who lives in this data every day and can translate it into clear choices.
If you’re thinking about buying, selling, or exploring your options, I’m here to guide you with clarity and care.If you are wondering what a realistic starter home looks like for your budget in Kirkwood or the greater St. Louis area, I would be happy to walk you through the numbers and the neighborhoods.
Karen Moeller
🌐 STLKaren.com
📧 Karen.McNeill@STLRE.com
📞 314.678.7866
About the Author:
Karen Moeller is a St. Louis area REALTOR® with MORE, REALTORS® and a regular contributor to St. Louis Real Estate News, helping clients make informed, data-driven decisions.
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