What’s a “starter home,” anyway? Maybe it’s a fixer-upper, maybe it’s just a stepping stone, often it’s a home for first-time buyers. According to a study by Trulia, the number of starter homes on the market has dropped by nearly 44 percent since 2012. The percent of income that a starter home buyer needs to pay in order to buy the home has increased from 32.2 percent to 37.7 percent in the last four years. 

Price has increased, too, bringing the national median listing price for a starter home from $116,932 in 2012 to $154,156 in 2016. But in some metropolitan areas, the average price for a starter home is double the national average.  Most starter homes listed are actually apartments, condos, flats and town homes for sale. Starter homes in major metropolitan areas tend to be away from the city’s core and vary in price.

Here’s a look at five major metropolitan areas in the United States and what a starter home might cost there:

1. New York

   Zillow

    Median listing price for a starter home: $214,000

Los Angeles

Most of the listings for “starter homes” in the LA area are in South Los Angeles, away from the metropolitan center of the city. 

Zillow

Median listing price for a starter home:  $329,000

Chicago

Most of the listings for starter homes in the Chicago area in the southern half of the greater metropolitan area. 

Zillow

Median listing price for a starter home: $97,950

Houston

Listings for the Houston area are dispersed outside of the metropolitan core of the city. Many “starter home” listings are actual houses in this area. 

Zillow

Median listing price for a starter home:  $92,575

Philadelphia

Listings in Philadelphia are cheaper than other metropolitan areas. 

Zillow

Median listing price for a starter home: : $59,700