Who Killed the Starter Home?

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.

Who Killed the Starter Home? is a arts podcast hosted by Marina Rubina, with 78 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Marina Rubina hosts Who Killed the Starter Home?, a arts show with 78 episodes published.

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  Episode #78

  A Thousand Small Fixes That Might Actually Work. Conversation with Jack Farrell.

  Aug 13, 202646 min

  In this episode, research attorney with YIMBY Law Jack Farrell came back to the podcast to walk us through the newly passed Road to Housing Act . This sprawling, three hundred eighty-one-page bill is made up of small technical fixes. For Jack, that's a good sign: the sheer number of granular changes suggests that the authors understand how housing programs work on the ground. We cover the highlights: grant programs that now prioritize ADUs, missing middle housing, and single-stair reform; a fix that makes manufactured homes cheaper to build; the unlocking of Community Development Block Grant funds for affordable housing; and a change that cuts duplicate inspections for properties using multiple federal funding sources. We also dig into the bill's attempt to cap how many single-family homes big institutional investors can own — and why the data suggests Wall Street landlords aren't the main cause of high home prices. And, for a complete fun fact — there is a provision inside a housing bill that has nothing to do with housing: a ban on the U.S. ever creating its own central bank digital currency.

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  Episode #77

  Spanish Colonial Meets State Pro-Housing Laws in Santa Barbara, CA. Conversation with Ellen Bildsten

  Aug 6, 202651 min

  For decades, local zoning rules kept towns like Santa Barbara completely stuck, resulting in virtually zero new housing production. Then, the state of California stepped in. In this episode, architect and housing advocate Ellen Bildsten joins us to share firsthand insights from the frontlines of California's housing revolution. We walk through how a massive wave of statewide legislation bypassed restrictive local zoning to unlock unprecedented housing opportunities—from the initial accessory dwelling unit (ADU) breakthrough to radical new laws allowing single-family lots to be subdivided into multiple ownership opportunities. We discuss the critical "push-pull" of designing for density in highly traditional communities, the financial realities of infill vs. large-scale multifamily projects, and Ellen's dream of transforming a tourist-centered downtown into a walkable, vibrant, and authentic transit-oriented neighborhood.

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  Episode #76

  Zoning Is Theft. The Set-Aside Is the Windfall Tax. Conversation with Creigh Rahenkamp

  Jul 30, 202659 min

  It is a common story of high-demand towns using zoning to keep housing supply from meeting demand with low- and moderate-income families being pushed out. In this episode, New Jersey's preeminent housing planner Creigh Rahenkamp does a deep dive on our state's half-century attempt to overcome exclusionary zoning. After hearing my recent conversation with Jason Sorens , whose research found no measurable increase in overall housing production, Creigh was furious at what he saw as a mischaracterization of the Mount Laurel doctrine. As we dig in, however, something interesting emerges: the two of them agree on far more than it first appears. Both agree that Mount Laurel has increased the number of deed-restricted affordable units, but that New Jersey is nowhere near building enough homes compared to real demand. And both point to the same culprit for why: local rules continue to exclude, and complex requirements and approvals run up against economic constraints, making projects impossible. Where they split is on what the Mount Laurel doctrine is. Sorens evaluates it as a housing production program. Rahenkamp insists it was never that — it's a rezoning doctrine, with deed-restricted units as the mechanism to capture some of the value that zoning had trapped, for the benefit of low- and moderate-income residents.

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  Episode #75

  The YIMBY Recipe: Clarity and Carrots. Conversation with Jack Farrell

  Jul 23, 202650 min

  You have probably heard of the "Yes In My Back Yard" movement, but you may be less familiar with YIMBY Law — a nonprofit organization that helps research policy solutions, offer legal support, and streamline the arbitrary and delaying tactics stalling new home construction. In this episode, research attorney with YIMBY law, Jack Farrell joins us to describe the housing doctrines in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. He discusses why simply making "local housing plans" is great in theory, but often fails in practice without clear, enforceable rules. From California's Permit Streamlining Act to battles over home rule in Colorado, Jack walks us through how enforcing clear standards and timelines along with smart incentives can bring predictability back to the housing approval process. Finally, Jack shares a sobering perspective from his early days as a public interest attorney: the direct, devastating link between housing scarcity and domestic violence. Here is the link to our YIMBY Law project support form: https://www.yimbylaw.org/submit-a-project Information for anyone interested in YIMBY Action chapters: https://yimbyaction.org/get-involved/what-is-a-chapter/

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  Episode #74

  Claiming the Designer's Seat at the Developer's Table. Conversation with Christopher Calott

  Jul 16, 202652 min

  "Design is the easy part. I get to sit in my secret magic studio, come up with a great design, and draw it up. I can do that all day long. But getting that design to work with the budget, the zoning, the neighbors, and the construction—that’s the hard part." According to Christopher Calott, Chair and Program Founder of the Master of Real Estate Development + Design Program at UC Berkeley. In this episode, we discuss how designers can stop complaining from the sidelines and actually regain control of their vision by claiming their seat at the developer's table. When value engineering ruins a project, it’s because we aren't the ones making the final decisions. Chris breaks down the myth of the "greedy developer," the reality of managing financial risk, and how "building a return on design" can physically and socially elevate an entire neighborhood. We also tackle the harsh reality of the modern housing market: the burdensome "Drive to Value" that forces entry-level homebuyers to make a bargain with the devil just to secure a starter home.

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