Advanced Vocabulary from the Newspaper

The Starter Home

The headline of the article is “Whatever Happened to the Starter Home?” A starter home refers to a small and affordable house for first-time buyers. It is typically the first home someone purchases, and as their family grows and income increases, they usually sell the starter home and buy a bigger house. However, young people today are finding it increasingly difficult to afford starter homes. Here are some examples of what a starter home looks like:

• Starter home: A small and affordable house for first-time buyers
• Entry-level home: A small home that is suitable for people with limited financial resources

Whatever Happened To?

The expression “whatever happened to” is used when we want to know what has become of something or someone from the past. It implies a sense of curiosity or concern. For example, if we haven’t seen a friend in a long time, we might ask, “Whatever happened to John?” This expression can also be used to express disappointment or confusion about a change. For instance, we can say, “Whatever happened to children obeying their parents?” or “Whatever happened to elegance?”

The Housing Market

The housing market refers to the buying and selling of houses. When we add “-ing” to the word “house,” we pronounce it as “housing.” For example, “housing market” refers to the market for houses. The article mentions that the economics of the housing market and local rules have squeezed out entry-level homes. To be squeezed out means to be forced out of a situation or position due to competition. In this case, economic factors have made entry-level homes unaffordable, leading to their disappearance.

The American Housing Crisis

The article highlights the disappearance of affordable homes as a central issue in the American housing crisis. There is a shortage of small, no-frills homes that could provide a starting point for families to build equity. These homes would be particularly beneficial for new immigrants or young couples burdened with student debt. However, due to rising prices and regulations, such homes are becoming increasingly scarce.

Key Vocabulary and Expressions

• Starter home: A small and affordable house for first-time buyers
• Entry-level home: A small home suitable for people with limited financial resources
• Whatever happened to: Expressing curiosity or concern about the current situation of something or someone from the past
• Housing market: The market for buying and selling houses
• To be squeezed out: To be forced out of a situation or position due to competition
• American housing crisis: The shortage of affordable homes in the United States

Conclusion

The article discusses the challenges faced by young people in affording starter homes and highlights the disappearance of affordable housing as a significant issue in the American housing crisis. Understanding the vocabulary and expressions used in the article can help advanced English learners improve their language skills and gain insight into American culture.

Hundred thousand dollars 20 years ago but the prices have gone up. Let’s look at the meaning of no frills. The article says there isn’t enough of this housing – small no-frills homes. No frills means basic and simple, without any extras or luxury features. We can say we stayed in a no-frills hotel to save money. She prefers no-frills clothing that is practical and comfortable. The airline offers no-frills flights that are cheaper but don’t include any meals or entertainment. So, a no-frills home is a very simple home, not a luxurious home.

Let’s listen to how some other people used no frills. Not necessarily a no-frills burger, but you know, it’s very basic. It’s basically a no-frills online message board. I’m gonna do a no-frills video. I’m not gonna bring in like explosions, the no-frill standard phone and the kind of fancy upgrade.

Let’s learn the meaning of the expression “to give someone a foothold.” That means to provide someone with an opportunity or advantage to start something. For example, you can say the scholarship gave the students a foothold in pursuing their dream career, or the training program gave the participants a foothold in the industry. The article says small no-frills homes that would give a family new to the country or a young couple with student debt a foothold to build equity.

Let’s learn the meaning of “equity.” Equity is the value of the house minus how much you owe to the bank. So if your house is worth five hundred thousand dollars and you owe the bank two hundred thousand dollars, you have three hundred thousand dollars in equity. That’s how much money you would have if you sold the house. So, to build equity is to make money by owning a house because the houses keep going up in value. We can say you have a lot of equity in this house, or you can say you have built a lot of equity. It used to be that buying a starter home was a way for young people to make money and build equity.

As recently as the 1990s when Jason Nagali started off the home building industry, they were still constructing what real estate ads would brightly call the “starter home.” In the Denver area, he sold newly built two-story houses with three bedrooms in 1400 square feet or less for the price of ninety-nine thousand to one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, or around two hundred thousand dollars in today’s dollars. That house would be in tremendous demand today, but few builders construct anything like it anymore, and you couldn’t buy those Denver area homes built 25 years ago at an entry-level price today either – they go for half a million dollars. The disappearance of such affordable homes is central to the American housing crisis. The nation has a deepening shortage of housing, but more specifically, there isn’t enough of this housing – small no-frills homes that would give a family new to the country or a young couple with student debt a foothold to build equity.

The affordable end of the market has been squeezed from every side. Land costs have risen steeply in booming parts of the country. Construction materials and government fees have become more expensive. Communities nationwide are far more prescriptive today than decades ago about what housing should look like and how big it must be. Some ban vinyl siding, others require two-car garages. Nearly all make it difficult to build a kind of home that could sell for two hundred thousand dollars today.

Nationwide, the small detached house has all but vanished from new construction. Only about eight percent of new single-family homes today are 1400 square feet or less. In the 1940s, according to Core Logic, nearly 70 percent of new houses were that small.

The article says land costs have risen steeply in booming parts of the country. That means the cost of land has increased a lot. And what are the booming parts of the country? If an area is booming, it means it’s experiencing rapid growth, success, and prosperity. Many people are moving to the booming parts of the country for job opportunities.

Let’s look at the word “prescriptive.” “Prescriptive” means relating to rules, regulations, or instructions about how something should be done. We can say the company has a prescriptive policy on how employees should dress, or the doctor provided a prescriptive treatment plan for the patient. The article states that communities nationwide are far more prescriptive today than decades ago about what housing should look like and how big it must be, and that’s one reason why housing has become so expensive.

Let’s look at the verb “to ban.” The article says some ban vinyl siding, others require two-car