Claim OwnershipWho Killed the Starter Home?
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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.
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.
30 Episodes
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Desmond Dunn is learning, building, and leading. He is working to bring affordable, community-driven development (no subsidies needed) to his own community in Raleigh, North Carolina. In this episode, we explore how prosperity reshaped the starter home and even what role developers play in where you meet your spouse.
In this episode, economist Salim Furth explains why the housing crisis isn’t just speculation: it’s demand running headfirst into regulation. His research quantifies how much red tape really costs families in this country.
We also talk about how towns fall over themselves to lure big companies while failing the small and mid-size developers who could actually build the housing we need. Along the way, Salim shares inspiring success stories from Texas to Maine and even offers advice for our gubernatorial candidates.
Berkeley Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani shares how she ran and won on a pro-housing platform, and how that has now become the norm. Did you know that Berkeley, the birthplace of single-family zoning, just passed ordinances allowing 8 units per parcel + 8 ADUs as of right? As Rashi says, “It’s so much more fun to say yes to new people in your community.”
Graffiti artists are often the first responders to abandonment. But what happens to their art when development moves in?
In this episode, graffiti artist and muralist Leon Rainbow shares his journey—from tagging walls in California to painting Trenton’s largest mural on the outside of the maximum-security prison. We dive into the role of art as expression, as business, and as community building.
Shaheed Morris takes us inside his personal journey, from nearly losing his grandmother’s home to building a bigger vision for Trenton’s future and for his own. He’s working, studying, and building all at the same time, turning challenge into momentum and vision into action.
In this episode Architect and Developer John Hatch and I explore how walkability, historic charm, and a strong sense of place can be the real luxuries—and why cities like Trenton are full of starter home treasures waiting to be rediscovered. I especially love the story of John and his collaborators literally bringing 18 homes back to life in their own neighborhood—and that’s just the beginning.
In this episode, Sean Jackson, CEO of Isles, shares his thoughts on what it takes to grow a city that truly works. We talk about Trenton’s housing and community revitalization—and how it all starts with caring enough to make change happen. Isles is a nonprofit organization dedicated to training and educating adults and youth, helping families build wealth through innovative financial services, and promoting healthy living.
This first conversation is with Roland Pott, a real estate broker, developer, and longtime Trenton resident. We talk about what it really takes to turn a “bedroom community” into a real one.
Trenton’s walkability, density, and affordability offer a rare opportunity: a place where first-time buyers and small-scale developers can help shape the city’s future—without waiting for billion-dollar investments or zoning miracles.
Roland shares why this historic city is already built for community—and why now is the time to bring it to life
In this episode, I spoke with Professor Christopher Cowton, an expert in business ethics and co-author of a powerful paper on hypocrisy. Joining us from London, he helps unpack the moral tension at the heart of NIMBYism—when people who support progressive values push back on new housing in their own neighborhoods.
Is it hypocrisy? Fear? Or something deeper? And how can philosophy help us talk about housing more honestly—and more possibly more productively?
In this episode, I spoke with the Honorable Judge Joe Small, retired presiding judge of the Tax Court of New Jersey. Judge Small breaks down how our property tax system, rooted in 1940s constitutional language, affects everything from starter home construction to school funding, and why it’s often lower- and middle-income families who end up footing the bill.
We talk about what's broken, what could be fixed, and why some reforms are harder than they should be.
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
In this episode, I spoke with Commissioner Jacquelyn Suárez of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA). As one of the state’s largest departments, DCA is on a mission to support residents, local governments, businesses, and community organizations through financial assistance, technical expertise, and smart policy—helping improve quality of life across New Jersey.
I’ve personally benefited from DCA’s technical services, so it was especially exciting to hear about the innovative and ongoing programs that are saving taxpayers money and expanding access to homeownership in our state.
Here are the links to the programs we talked about:
NJHOMES: https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/njhomes.shtml
Section 8 Homeownership Program: https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/section8ho.shtml
Family Self Sufficiency: https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/fss.shtml
Affordable Housing Trust Fund: https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/ahtf.shtml
In this episode, I spoke with Skip Schenker, who’s helping people turn fixer-uppers into dream homes by creating tools that simplify financing based on after-renovation value.
Financing problems are a huge part of why starter homes are so rare—and Skip and his collaborators at Ready4Remodel.com and Renofi are working to change that.
In this episode, I spoke with someone who’s actually seen starter homes for sale—Kol Peterson, an author, educator, and housing advocate based in Portland, Oregon.
Thanks to Kol’s efforts, and the work of many other incredible advocates, Portland is seeing real change and real results. It’s a true success story we can all admire—and learn from.
Lots of people have asked us: Why is it so expensive to build starter homes?
In this episode, I spoke with Aaron Holm, who’s tackling that question head-on. He brings deep experience in technology and innovation to the construction industry—and he’s not afraid to challenge the status quo.
Spoiler alert, By the time your bids come in too high, it’s already too late.
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
In the final episode of our mini-series featuring conversations with brilliant millennials, I spoke with Shane Phillips, author of The Affordable City: Strategies for Putting Housing Within Reach (and Keeping it There).
We dug into what’s broken in the housing ladder—and what kinds of housing policy could help fix it.
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
I continued speaking with inspiring and brilliant millennials in this week’s episode.
Natali Fani-Gonzalez is a first-term council member in Montgomery County, Maryland. With her love of numbers and community-centered leadership, she has already passed a well-balanced (yet controversial) rent control bill and an office-to-residential conversion law. She’s faced plenty of setbacks along the way, but that has not stopped her: a missing middle housing bill is next in the works.
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
In this episode, I spoke with Daryl Fairweather. Dr. Fairweather is the chief economist at Redfin as well as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Academic Advisory Council. She explained the idea of Land Value Tax and how taxing land differently can help us incentivize denser and more sustainable development.
In this episode, I spoke with Christian Calderon. Unlike our other guests, he isn’t working to build starter homes—he’s trying to buy one. Christian shares a powerful immigrant story and an unwavering belief in the American Dream. We were also joined by Chris Costa from Stevens & Lee, who helped shed light on the technical challenges Christian faced in the process of purchasing his home.
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
This is one of the most inspiring conversations I have had.
In this episode, I spoke with Burhan Azeem. He is the youngest city councilor in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Burhan worked tirelessly to remove costly parking minimums and expand zoning for 100% affordable housing projects. He is laser focused on legalizing multifamily housing up to six stories throughout the city, ensuring that Cambridge remains an affordable and accessible place to live for all its residents.
For those who are familiar with the work or Abundant Housing Massachusents or Ezra Klein's and Derek Thompson book, Abundance, Burhan's work is the real life implementation.
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
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