Just words

Collins English Dictionary defines a starter home as a “small, new house which is cheap enough for people who are buying their first home to afford.” You won’t find the phrase too often outside of the real estate industry.

There isn’t much about the etymology of the phrase, but most likely, it’s a marketing ploy to get people to buy into the idea of purchasing another home in a few years.

Grind your gears

Mark Greutman, husband to Lauren Greutman, believes that the term “starter home” should bother people. The phrase implies that you will upgrade later.

Your starter home isn’t good enough for the rest of your life. And not to get into how well Americans have it, what about people who will never be able to afford anything more? Is it an insult to them?

Do you really need two living rooms?

Older generations bought one home and lived in it until they could no longer be independent. In today’s world, we buy a starter home, then upgrade to have more space, to live farther away from our neighbors, to have rooms that are only used once or twice a year, and to make sure you have a 2 or 3 car garage to hold your vehicles and more stuff, some of which isn’t taken out very often.

But consider this: You could pay off your starter home in 15 to 20 years, if you budget right.

You could be out from under a mortgage and have money to travel, send the kids to college, or even retire early. When you think about what led to the financial crisis in 2008, isn’t it better to have a smaller house where you can make the payments than worry about losing your house?

Be content where you are

Realtors are motivated to make sure that they have customers. If people buy one home with the intent to stay, will the market dry up? Probably not, because people move and a new generation will be ready to purchase homes for their own family.

Let’s think about that phrase, “starter home.” It fuels consumerism and discontentment. Don’t call cheaper houses starter homes, but just a home.

If you’re on the fence about buying a house in the time of COVID, perhaps this will change your mind: For the third consecutive week, interest rates are well below 3% across the board.

Fox Business reports current fixed-rate mortgages as staying below 3% this week—like the last two weeks—with 30-year rates sitting at 2.75 percent. 20- and 15-year fixed rates are rating 2.75% and 2.125%, respectively. That’s a heck of a lot lower than rates were this time last year, and while there’s an obvious culprit with egregious downsides to thank, the fact remains that a pyrrhic thanks may indeed be in order.

Even refinancing rates are substantially lower than usual. A fixed 30-year rate is right at three percent, while rates for shorter time frames are consistently holding at below 2.8%. This proves true for the 13th week in a row, so it seems like now—like 12 weeks ago—is a good time to refinance your home for a lower rate.

While these rates may differ from what you’ll receive when looking to buy, you can generally expect lower interest rates these days—even if your credit isn’t perfect. Other factors that will impact your rate include property location and value, your income, and how much you’re able to afford for the down payment. Similarly, as long as the economy is going through a rough patch, it seems fair to expect that rates will continue to err on the side of lower than average.

As someone with an interest rate over 4% on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, it’s tempting to refinance, especially given that the process for doing so is necessarily contact-free. Even if you’re fully buying a house, though, there’s some merit to entering the market now.

It’s no secret that the economy has slowed down during the pandemic. With the majority of the population hunkering down and sheltering in place, buying a home may not be the first thing that comes to mind for most. Sure, it’s a process that is rife with risk at the moment; however, if your plans for this year included moving anyway, now is a pretty good time to apply.

COVID-19 has had an undeniable effect on the U.S. economy. In the housing market, increased interest in single-family, new-construction homes has given builders a bright spot in the crisis. Builder confidence in this market has now reached a 35-year high, but builders are not out of the woods yet.

Potential homebuyers are showing up in hoards (figuratively speaking, we hope) this fall with a keen interest in new-construction homes. Buyers looking to take advantage of record-low interest rates are knocking on model home doors, seeking improved living arrangements with more space and functionality. The market sentiment for single-family homes is positive, but rising lumber prices are tempering home builders’ excitement for booming business.

Many white-collar workers are staring down an indefinite stretch of remote working arrangements, with some large tech companies even considering making the change to remote work permanent. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced workers to make big shifts in their everyday life. These lifestyles changes, along with low interest rates, have prompted a new wave of homebuyers.

Unfortunately for builders, the pandemic has had a much harder impact on blue-collar workers and a negative impact on supply and demand. While office workers sit on their couches and open up their laptops to Zillow, places like lumber mills and factories had no choice but to shut down during the height (if that is even past us) of the pandemic.

Many lumber mills and factories remain closed or are dealing with severe labor shortages as these blue-collar workers are disproportionately affected by the pandemic and access to adequate health care.

Prior to shutdowns, the market was not expecting this type of boom in new-construction interest from homebuyers. Builders are now seeing lumber prices rise as a result of increased demand and dwindling supplies.

Mortgage rates hit record lows in early August, and while those have risen somewhat since then, it is unlikely that rates will skyrocket anytime soon. With no end to the pandemic in sight for the U.S., potential homebuyers will keep coming and builders will just have to deal with the premium on lumber for the foreseeable future.