(RECAP: A starter home is “smaller, it’s cheaper and in an area that might not be in an area where you eventually want to settle down,” says Dr. Issi Romem, chief economist for BuildZoom, a real estate construction marketplace. But these days, first-time buyers aren’t choosing starter homes. Rather than buying a starter home and plotting to upgrade in five years or so, first-time homeowners are buying and staying place, according to research conducted by the National Association of Realtors. “When they do buy, they’re plotting on living there longer than buyers that we’ve seen in the past,” says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s managing director of survey research. “They’re expecting to live there 10 years.” That trend is borne out in another survey, fielded by Bank of America in early 2016. The research found that 75% of first-time buyers would prefer to skip the starter home stage and find a house that meets their present and future needs. And more than one-third of those surveyed (35%) said they intended to be “one and done” — really plotting to retire in their first home.)