For first-time homebuyers, are starter homes becoming extinct?

[zipplewrath]

3. 20% down payment

There was a time that one was expected to put up 20% of the cost of a house as part of the loaning process. As such, "starter homes" were those so low cost that one could reasonably expect to have enough savings (or under the table loans from parents/family) to get "started". Once some equity has been accrued in a home, it would create the 20% needed for the purchase of a larger home. Once banks started giving essentially 100% mortgages, this process was no longer needed.