Toledo, St. Louis and Detroit had the largest shares of starter-priced active listings among the 100 largest U.S. metro areas in Realtor.com Economic Research’s August 2026 snapshot: 42.1%, 40.7% and 39.8%, respectively. Kansas City and St. Louis also stand out for having above-average shares of ZIP codes where starter-priced listings are concentrated. These figures describe a relative price tier and listing mix—not what an individual buyer can afford.
What counts as a starter home in this analysis?
Realtor.com Economic Research defines a starter-priced home as an active listing priced at or below 80% of its metro’s median list price. Trade-up listings are priced above 125% of that median. The analysis covers single-family homes, condos, townhomes, rowhomes and co-ops in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas by household count. It compares August 2019, August 2022 and August 2026 snapshots. Realtor.com Economic Research’s report explains the methodology.
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This is not a universal definition based on square footage, age, condition or one national price cap. The report gives approximate national starter-price thresholds of $260,000 in August 2019 and $340,000 in August 2026, but the classification itself is relative to each metro’s median list price. A home counted as starter-priced in one area may exceed the threshold in another.
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Which metros have the highest starter-home shares?
The August 2026 figures below are each metro’s share of active listings at or below its local starter-price threshold. They are not rankings of lowest home prices or of affordability for a particular household. Realtor.com Economic Research reports these leading shares:
#1 Best Overall
| Metro | Starter-priced share of active listings |
|---|---|
| Toledo, Ohio | 42.1% |
| St. Louis, Missouri–Illinois | 40.7% |
| Detroit, Michigan | 39.8% |
| Kansas City, Missouri–Kansas | 37.7% |
Toledo has the highest share, but a metro-wide percentage does not show whether lower-priced listings are scattered across many locations or concentrated in a few. Kansas City and St. Louis are notable on both measures: each had an above-national-average starter share and an above-average share of starter-dominant ZIP codes.
How widely are starter-priced listings spread?
Realtor.com classifies a ZIP code as starter-dominant when at least 60% of its qualifying listings meet the starter threshold; a trade-up-dominant ZIP has at least 60% trade-up listings. ZIPs meeting neither threshold are mixed. The classification requires at least 50 qualifying listings in the month, so it describes listing composition, not neighborhood quality or the availability of a specific suitable home. The report’s methodology details these rules.
Rank #2
Of roughly 8,300 ZIP codes analyzed in August 2026, 18.3% were starter-dominant, 20.3% trade-up-dominant and 61.4% mixed. In 81 of the 100 metros, a majority of analyzed ZIP codes were mixed. That is why the overall starter share should be read alongside geographic spread, rather than as a map of where every starter-priced home is located.
High metro share, fewer starter-dominant ZIPs
Toledo’s 42.1% starter share came with eight starter-dominant ZIP codes; Akron also ranked among metros with high starter shares but had 10 such ZIPs. Those counts show that a high metro-wide share does not automatically mean a large number of distinct ZIP codes where starter listings predominate.
More starter inventory, but concentrated in parts of the metro
Austin had a 32.7% starter-priced share, but only 12 of 80 qualifying ZIP codes were starter-dominant. The report says those ZIPs were mostly in the east and southeast; 24 ZIPs were trade-up-dominant and 44 were mixed.
Few starter-dominant ZIPs do not tell the whole story
McAllen had a 28.8% starter share and one starter-dominant ZIP among 22 qualifying ZIPs. Yet the report describes prices there as broadly uniform: more than 85% of ZIP codes were within 20% of the metro median. A low count of starter-dominant ZIPs alone therefore does not establish that a metro has few lower-priced choices.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How has starter-priced inventory changed?
Nationally, 36.2% of active listings met the starter threshold in August 2026, compared with 38.1% in August 2019—a decline of 1.9 percentage points. The share was 36.3% in August 2022 and changed little in the report’s later snapshot. Meanwhile, the approximate national threshold rose from $260,000 to $340,000. These are changes in a relative list-price category, not a direct measure of how many homes a buyer can afford.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe composition of that tier also shifted. Condos and townhomes made up 27.1% of starter-priced inventory in August 2026, up from 18.0% in August 2019, as some single-family homes moved above the relative price threshold. Metro shares also diverged: Boise had the largest reported increase from 2019 to 2026 (+4.7 percentage points), followed by Portland (+4.0), Des Moines (+3.7), San Jose (+2.9) and Denver (+2.5). The largest reported declines were in Columbia, South Carolina (-8.3 points), Winston-Salem (-7.5), Cape Coral–Fort Myers (-6.9) and Augusta, Georgia (-6.5). These are percentage-point changes in share, not changes in listing counts or absolute affordability. The August snapshots are reported by Realtor.com Economic Research.
What the figures can—and cannot—tell a buyer
A larger starter-priced share can help indicate how common listings below the local price threshold are, while the ZIP-code breakdown provides context about their distribution. Neither measure says whether a buyer will qualify for a mortgage or find a home that fits their needs. Household income, down payment, mortgage rates, taxes, insurance, property condition and financing eligibility all affect practical affordability; this metro-share analysis does not estimate affordability for individual households.
The figures are based on active for-sale listings, not completed sales, and each August snapshot is a point-in-time measure rather than a forecast. Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones summarized the geographic pattern: “The takeaway here is that most starter-priced homes aren’t found in a clearly ‘starter’ ZIP code, but sit in mixed or even trade-up-leaning areas.” Realtor.com News, October 8, 2026.
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