For first-time homebuyers, are starter homes becoming extinct?
![Portrait of Terry Collins](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2021/02/12/USAT/b7c75e50-478e-426d-b695-db82c0ac3dd6-Collins_Terry.jpg?crop=345,345,x0,y1&width=48&height=48&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
There were smiles aplenty at the ribbon-cutting event at the Village Gardens in Seattle.
The occasion? To celebrate the completion of 16 new modern-looking starter townhomes not too far from Jimi Hendrix Park in the city's Central District neighborhood.
About eight homes will be available to households who make less than 80% of the area’s median income and two will be for those considered homeless or who had financial problems keeping a home.
"We got super frustrated by those who didn't believe us, that there is a lack of homes for middle-median income folks," said Kathleen Hosfeld, executive director of Homestead Community Land Trust, the organization that worked with the city to build the affordable housing. "This is not just a Seattle problem, this is happening nationwide."