Who Killed the Starter Home? – Details, episodes & analysis

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Who Killed the Starter Home?

Marina Rubina

Arts

Frequency: 1 episode/7d. Total Eps: 49

Have you seen any starter homes for sale lately? Neither have we. In this podcast, we speak with experts and try to figure out why this humble first home is going extinct. We’ll be exploring if it is the politicians, wielding zoning laws like a murder weapon who killed the starter home? Or maybe the scaredy-cat planners and designers? Or the developers, armed with cookie-cutter plans and corporate indifference? Is it our convoluted tax policy that subsidies homeownership, but puts every tax penalty in the way of creation of the starter homes. Spoiler alert: it’s probably a little of everything. We’ll be peeling back the layers of bureaucracy, bad faith, and bad planning, with stops along the way for affordable housing scandals, ADU success stories, and a passionate plea for building code updates. Join us for a conversation that’s part policy deep-dive, part therapy session for frustrated builders, and entirely a love letter to cities that deserve better.

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🇺🇸 USA - design
24/01/2026
#93
🇺🇸 USA - design
23/01/2026
#67
🇺🇸 USA - design
23/11/2025
#85
🇺🇸 USA - design
20/11/2025
#72
🇺🇸 USA - design
19/11/2025
#100
🇺🇸 USA - design
14/11/2025
#66
🇺🇸 USA - design
13/11/2025
#83
🇺🇸 USA - design
11/11/2025
#62
🇺🇸 USA - design
10/11/2025
#81
🇺🇸 USA - design
09/11/2025
#60

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https://www.redfin.com/
81 shares
https://www.strongtowns.org/
43 shares
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Abundance/Ezra-Klein/9781668023488
31 shares

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/us/richard-kahlenberg-affirmative-action.html
1 share

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Score global : 48%

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Attack on small, creative local. Conversation with Aaron Lubeck

Episode 1

dimanche 2 février 2025 • Duration 54:18

Aaron Lubeck wears many hats in the world of housing and urban development. He is a builder, planner, writer, policy advocate and educator. Check out his work at aaronlubeck.substack.com and southernurbanism.org. We talked about strategies to help towns create buildings and communities that are unique and require no subsidy to be affordable. You should also hear Aaron's great explanation of the threshold of abuse for small local developers and how that is different from the large corporate development groups. Let us know what you think, what other topics you would like to hear or if you have any ideas for how to bring the starter homes back from the brink of extinction, send us a note at starterhomepodcast@gmail.com

Home Rule and Condo Regulations, Conversation with Deb Tantleff

Episode 2

vendredi 21 février 2025 • Duration 54:26

In this episode I spoke with Deb Tantleff, the founding principal at https://www.tantumre.com. As a practitioner, Deb has developed over $2 billion dollars in construction of over 7,000 residential units throughout the state of NJ. She is also a housing advocate and chair of the NJ Builders Association. Deb and I spoke about the barriers developers have to overcome trying to build new homes. I also asked Deb to explain why so few condos are created for the entry level market. It is a depressing story of good intentions leading to terrible consequences. I hope you find this conversation educational - I certainly did. Do let us know what you think, what other topics you would like to hear or if you have any ideas for how to bring the starter homes back from the brink of extinction, send us a note at starterhomepodcast@gmail.com

Radical Growth that killed trust, conversation with Edward Erfurt of Strong Towns

Episode 4

vendredi 28 février 2025 • Duration 38:38

In this episode I spoke with Edward Erfurt, the Director of Community Action at Strong Towns. Strong Towns is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping cities and towns of all sizes to be safe, livable, and inviting. Their incremental development advocacy is both practical and inspiring. Edward told me that to find the answer to who killed the starter home, we need to look back about 80 years. The two following episodes will also be looking at the motives and consequences of this old crime. We would like to hear what you think about this conversation or if you have any ideas for how to bring the starter homes back from the brink of extinction, send us a note at starterhomepodcast@gmail.com

Homeowners in Progressive Cities, conversation with Randy Shaw

Episode 5

vendredi 7 mars 2025 • Duration 42:53

In this episode, I spoke with Randy Shaw, the executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, a nonprofit organization in San Francisco that provides free legal services and housing for the homeless. Randy is also the editor of Beyond Chron and the author of six books.

The book that caught my attention is Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America—a must-read. Randy was one of the first to highlight that the worst housing shortages are in our progressive blue cities. For example, do you know where the first "neighborhood preservation ordinance" originated? It was in Berkeley, CA, in 1973.

If you’ve ever proposed housing and been labeled a "gentrifier," you need to hear Randy’s explanation of gentrification without any new construction. I found his optimism about the future of housing incredibly encouraging—I hope this conversation inspires all of us.

Do let us know what you think, what other topics you would like to hear or if you have any ideas for how to bring the starter homes back from the brink of extinction, send us a note at starterhomepodcast@gmail.com

Fear of School Children and Snob Zoning, conversation with Richard Kahlenberg

Episode 6

vendredi 21 mars 2025 • Duration 31:24

In this episode I spoke with Richard Kahlenberg. The New York Times called Richard, The Liberal Maverick Fighting Race-Based Affirmative Action. Dr. Kahlenberg works on helping improve educational outcomes for economically disadvantaged people of all races. He is the author or editor of 18 books, testified in front of the US congress and was an expert witness at the US supreme court. We talked about why his book Excluded is about housing. Do let us know what you think about this conversation, what other topics you would like to hear or if you have any ideas for how to bring the starter homes back from the brink of extinction, send us a note at starterhomepodcast@gmail.com

NIMBYs and American Liberalism, conversation with Jacob Anbinder

Episode 6

jeudi 13 mars 2025 • Duration 54:48

In this episode, I spoke with Jacob Anbinder. His upcoming book, NIMBY Nation: The War on Growth That Created Our Housing Crisis and Remade American Politics, caught my attention. As a historian of American politics, Jacob has researched the root causes of NIMBYism—an essential topic for those of us working to create housing while facing NIMBY opposition every day. Jacob's research offers a wealth of useful information, but be careful—you'll discover that NIMBYs aren't lying or wrong all the time. Do let us know what you think, what other topics you would like to hear or if you have any ideas for how to bring the starter homes back from the brink of extinction, send us a note at starterhomepodcast@gmail.com

The Market Has No Feelings, conversation with Joshua Wilton

Episode 7

vendredi 28 mars 2025 • Duration 29:36

Did your parents help you buy a starter home? Are you planning to help your child buy a starter home? In this episode I spoke with Joshua Wilton, broker and owner of Queenston Realty. He is planning to help his 3 kids and we talked about why.

In the interest of full transparency, Josh and I are partners in Princeton Home Connections, a company that designs and builds Accessory Dwelling Units.

What millennials are NOT willing to sacrifice, conversation with Peter Dennehy

Episode 8

vendredi 4 avril 2025 • Duration 48:31

As we rethink the future of starter homes, we explore what truly matters to young buyers in their home searches—and what they’re willing to sacrifice. Spoiler alert: They might give up the car, but not the dog!

In this episode, I spoke with Peter Dennehy, Senior Vice President at John Burns Research and Consulting. With over 20 years of personal experience and access to the extensive research conducted by his firm, Peter provides us with a data-driven perspective on the housing market. John Burns Research offers the most comprehensive analysis of the residential for-sale market, covering both new construction and resales—from individual communities to national trends.

Caught between Institutional Investors and NIMBYs, conversation with Katie Brennan

Episode 9

vendredi 11 avril 2025 • Duration 50:50

This episode kicks off a series of conversations with millennials about housing and homeownership. I spoke with Katie Brennan, a graduate of Rutgers University’s Master of Urban Planning program. She has worked for both nonprofit and governmental organizations—for example, she served as the Chief of Staff at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. She is also running for public office. I was interested in hearing both the personal stories and professional perspectives of these talented and dedicated young people. We would like to hear what you think about this conversation or if you have any ideas for how to bring the starter homes back from the brink of extinction, send us a note at starterhomepodcast@gmail.com

Is Sustainable Affordable? Conversation with Matt Kaplan

Episode 13

vendredi 9 mai 2025 • Duration 44:46

In this episode, I spoke with Matthew Kaplan, Cofounder and CEO of ReVireo, an energy efficiency and green building services company based in New Jersey. Matt and his team live and breathe sustainability as it relates to buildings. As a leader in the field, he shed light on how sustainable projects are approved and delivered—what’s not working, and what could be improved. We would like to hear what you think about this conversation or if you have any ideas for how to bring the starter homes back from the brink of extinction, send us a note at starterhomepodcast@gmail.com