Who Killed the Starter Home?

Is NIMBYism Hypocrisy? Conversation with Christopher Chowton

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?

You Get What You Tax For - conversation with Joe Small

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

The Government IS Working, conversation with Commissioner Jacquelyn Suárez of NJ DCA

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
 

After-Renovation Value Financing - Conversation with Skip Schenker

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.
 

We ARE building starter homes! Conversation with Kol Peterson

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.

We can bring the cost down! Conversation with Aaron Holm

 
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

Housing SOS: Conversation with Shane Phillips

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
 
 
 

Policy That Helps Us Evolve: Conversation with Natali Fani-Gonzalez

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
 

Land Value Tax - Conversation with Daryl Fairweather

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. 

What is your American Dream? Conversation with Christian Calderon

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.