Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 9, 2026 Natuzza Dimasi of William Raveis stands at the proposed Eastwood Crossing site in East Hartford, holding the layout for Matthew Haubrich's planned 19-home subdivision. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer Starter Shortage As entry-level home construction declines, developer plans East Hartford subdivision for middle-income buyers Tight regulations, rising costs In the 1980s, about 40% of newly built single-family homes in the U.S. qualified as "starter homes," typically around 1,400 square feet or less, according to Alex Horowitz, housing policy director for The Pew Charitable Trusts. Today, less than 10% of new homes fall into that size range. In March 2018, Connecticut had more than 16,000 homes for sale at an average price of $252,000, Horowitz said. By March 2025, inventory had dropped below 5,000 homes, while average prices climbed to $414,000 — a 70% decline in inven- tory and a 64% increase in prices. Overall, single-family construction in Connecticut has fallen sharply over the years. The state issued more than 9,000 single-family building permits annually in most of the early 2000s, compared with under 3,000 for much of the last decade-plus, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. One of the main obstacles to adding new single-family housing, Horowitz said, is the growth of minimum lot-size requirements — zoning rules that dictate how much land each home must sit on. "And Connecticut is notorious for having large minimum lot sizes," Horowitz said. Cities that have reduced minimum lot sizes, including Houston, have seen sharp increases in housing production, he said. In 1998, Houston reduced minimum lot sizes in parts of the city from 5,000 square feet to 1,400 square feet, increasing density from eight homes per acre to 31. Houston expanded the policy citywide in 2013. Between 1998 and 2023, Houston added about 80,000 starter homes, including town house-style developments. "If your builder has an acre of land, they make more money building 10 or 15 starter homes than building one large house because they're just selling to more customers, and they have a margin on each home," Horowitz said. "But if they can only build one home per acre, you can be sure it's going to be a big, expensive home." Horowitz said factory-assembled housing remains another option for controlling costs. Modern manufac- tured homes, built to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development code, are energy efficient and compa- rable in quality to site-built homes when placed on foundations. But financing remains a hurdle. In Connecticut, manufactured homes are classified as personal property, like vehicles, which makes mortgages harder to obtain, Horowitz said. In New Hampshire, by contrast, manufactured homes erected on foundations are treated like site- built houses, giving buyers access to lower interest rates and stronger consumer protections. Slow permitting processes and high fees also encourage builders to pursue larger, higher-margin homes, Horowitz said. By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com W est Hartford archi- tect-turned-developer Matthew Haubrich is betting he can still build something that has become difficult to find in Connecticut: newly constructed single-family homes priced for middle-income buyers. Haubrich is proposing a 19-house subdivision in East Hartford with projected sale prices between $400,000 and $500,000 — a range that stands out in a state where most new houses are marketed well above that level. As of Jan. 28, Realtor.com showed 50 houses in Connecticut that were one year old or newer listed for $500,000 or less, compared with 543 priced above that threshold. Many of the lower-priced listings were in urban centers such as Hartford or Waterbury, or in more remote parts of the state. "It's hard to find affordable houses in Connecticut these days," Haubrich said. "That's why I got into doing this. I see a huge need not only in the state, but in the entire country. It's getting very difficult to build this." The project highlights a widening gap in Connecticut's housing market: while apartment construction has surged in recent years, entry-level single-family homes have become increasingly scarce. Builders and housing policy experts say factors including land prices, construction costs and local regulations often push new homes into higher price tiers, making developments like Haubrich's an outlier rather than the norm. Beyond the housing market, the issue also carries economic implica- tions for the state. Business leaders and policymakers increasingly link housing availability to Connecticut's ability to attract and retain workers, particularly as employers report ongoing labor shortages. Working with Meriden-based builder Volpati Homes, Haubrich's development — called Eastwood Crossing — plans to offer three- to four-bedroom houses with two-and-a- half bathrooms, ranging from 1,400 to 2,000 square feet. The homes would sit on lots between 10,000 and 15,000 square feet, with buyers choosing from floor plans including capes, modern farmhouses and colonials. To control costs, the development would rely on low land prices, higher density and slab-on-grade construc- tion without basements, Haubrich said. He purchased the vacant parcels at 215 and 231 Brewer St. for $108,800 in August 2024. The prop- erties sit near a densely developed corridor and are surrounded largely by modest single-family homes built more than 58 years ago. Haubrich has received a wetlands permit but still needs local subdivi- sion approval. If granted, he hopes to begin site work in June, with a model home ready about six months later. Alex Horowitz $400K $300K $200K $100K $0 2015 2021 2017 2023 2019 2025 2016 2022 2018 2024 2020 Source: Greater Hartford Association of Realtors COST AVERAGE COST OF A SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE IN GREATER HARTFORD

• Cover