A $1 Million Starter Home Is Now the Norm in 237 American Cities

Half of the million-dollar starter homes are in the state of California.

By Naveen Athrappully

Hundreds of cities across the United States now have starter homes priced at $1 million dollars or more, as housing shortages push prices to record highs, according to real estate marketplace Zillow.

The typical starter home—or property in the lowest third of local home values—is worth at least $1 million in 237 cities, Zillow said in a July 25 report. This is the highest number of cities with million-dollar typical starter homes in U.S. history, up from 84 cities five years ago.

Roughly half of the 237 cities are in California alone, followed on the list by New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Massachusetts.

By metropolitan area, the New York City metro area, which includes parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, leads with million-dollar starter homes in 48 cities. It’s followed by the San Francisco metro area (44 cities), Los Angeles metro area (35 cities), San Jose metro area (15 cities), and Miami and Seattle metro areas (eight cities each). Zillow attributed the price spike to “a housing shortage that worsened over the [COVID-19] pandemic.”