National housing inventory rose 3.3 percent year-over-year, driven almost entirely by a 13.3 percent increase in premium homes, according to Trulia’s Inventory and Price Watch report released today. This is the first time that inventory has hit positive territory during the first quarter since 2015. However, starter home inventory plummeted, hitting its lowest level in at least six years, and amid a 9.6 percent year-over-year increase in median list price.

Not only will first-time buyers face fierce competition in a tighter and pricier housing market, the quality of available starter homes appears to have diminished. Today, starter homes are less likely to be move-in ready, with fixer-uppers making up 11.2 percent of the market, up from 10.3 percent in 2012. Moreover, starter homes nationally are nine years older on average and about 2 percent smaller in terms of square footage, shrinking to 1,187 square feet from 1,211 square feet six years ago.

“First-time homebuyers face a perfect storm this spring,” Cheryl Young, Trulia’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Affordable, move-in ready starter homes have become harder to find amid rising home prices and mortgage rates. While new home construction hit a 10-year high in 2017, these units have not translated into starter home inventory just yet.”