The report argues that the nation’s housing affordability problem is tied not solely to the variety of properties accessible but additionally to the restricted provide of entry-level properties accessible to first-time consumers.
Properties priced beneath $300,000 typically symbolize the entry level for first-time consumers and important employees — and the report says that phase faces essentially the most intense provide constraints.
On the similar time, housing stock exists that’s not getting used. Information from the U.S. Census Bureau signifies that almost one in 10 properties nationwide is vacant.
New Western president and co-founder Kurt Carlton stated information displays a shift in how entry-level housing provide is getting into the market.
“What if the true housing disaster isn’t that we haven’t constructed sufficient properties, however that we’re letting tens of millions of starter properties disappear?” he stated. “Fixing immediately’s housing problem isn’t nearly constructing extra properties. It’s about whether or not attainable housing truly exists on the entry level. In 2025, small, native impartial buyers quietly turned the most important suppliers of starter properties in America.
“They aren’t constructing subdivisions — they’re revitalizing present properties that might in any other case stay underutilized and returning them to productive use. The Great Renovation is restoring the primary rung of the housing ladder.”
Traders dominate entry-level provide
In line with the report, investors accounted for 83.75% of latest housing stock priced beneath $215,000 and 69.5% of stock beneath $250,000.
New development stays concentrated at increased worth factors. Slightly below 11% of latest properties in-built 2025 had been delivered within the starter-home worth band of $261,000 or much less.
The report additionally discovered that many properties bought by buyers (72%) weren’t listed on the open market as a result of they required important repairs and had been thought of unlikely to draw conventional consumers.
Vacant inventory, native market traits
In line with the evaluation, there are greater than 15 million vacant properties throughout the nation together with greater than 6.7 million occupied properties that require substantial repairs.
Investor-driven transactions additionally generate financial exercise tied to the broader housing sector.
The report estimates that purchases and resales related to investor renovations generated greater than $20.9 billion in itemizing agent commissions in 2025.
These transactions help exercise throughout a number of sectors tied to actual property, together with brokerage, lending, title providers and different native companies.
The report says investor exercise is outpacing new development in a number of giant metropolitan areas in the case of producing entry-level housing stock.
Examples cited embrace St. Louis, the place investor exercise delivered 1,069% extra starter properties than builders, in addition to Boston, the place buyers provided 571% extra properties within the entry-level phase.
Atlanta and Charlotte additionally confirmed important variations, with buyers delivering 296% and 149% extra starter properties, respectively.
Impression on homebuyers and brokers
Starter properties are extensively thought of a key part of the housing market as a result of they permit first-time consumers to enter homeownership and create motion throughout increased worth tiers.
When entry-level stock is restricted, fewer consumers can transfer into homeownership — slowing exercise throughout the remainder of the housing market as present homeowners delay gross sales or upgrades to bigger properties.
For real estate agents and brokers, the findings make clear a rising supply of housing stock that more and more shapes entry-level transactions.
Investor-driven renovations typically convert distressed or outdated properties into move-in-ready properties that may be listed and bought by means of conventional brokerage channels.
As entry-level stock stays restricted in lots of markets, renovated properties could symbolize a bigger share of properties accessible to first-time consumers. That dynamic can affect the place brokers focus efforts — notably relationships with native buyers who recurrently purchase and resell properties.
