First, I apologize for not having read everything in this post, but I don't have that much time right now and since it's picture heavy, my laptop will need an eternity to load all those photos. I only just discovered this thread, but I have made quite a few starter homes by now, most of them back in September/October. A lot of those are remakes from TS1/TS2, but with a Sims 4 touch, they don't really look all that great, I was just starting out with this new build mode then... The latest are the ones for Newcrest (my own designs and they look nicer I think).
I'll just link the ones under $20.000*, but I have a few that are just over it, suitable if you have a slightly bigger family. (* that is without the price for the lot, I'm just doing this via the online Gallery, so they'll be about $2.000 more expensive when you use them)
I'll go easy on the pictures ;) (they're from the Gallery anyway, so not really all that interesting) Pictures are from the link placed above them.
The Bachelor - $13.440; 1 bed, 1 bath - made after one of the premade homes from TS1, the house I always let Michael Bachelor live in.
The Newbie - $12.395; 1 bed, 1 bath - remake of Bob and Betty's home from TS1.
Start Classic - $15.316; 1 bed, 1 bath - after the house of one of the Sims 2 tutorials.
Strangetown Small - $14.779; 1 bed, 1 bath - remake of my favourite starter from Strangetown (TS2).
http://athena.thesims.com/v1/images/1/0x000007f1/21807262-685B-11E4-8F48-EECC586A27A8/00.jpg
The Peterson - $14.127; 1 bed, 1 bath - inspired by the design I used for the first house I ever built for my Sims (the Peterson family).
Modern Simple - $16.318; 1 bed, 1 bath - apartment type floorplan, I used to use these for my richer students in TS2 (before I had Apartment Life and built an actual apartment building with them).
http://athena.thesims.com/v1/images/1/0x000025ca/849C806C-71B9-11E4-88D6-16E9A4081AAA/00.jpg
Humble Abode - $17.063; 2 bed, 1 bath - after one of the premades from Sims 2.
Family Starter - $17.500; 2 bed, 1 bath - made after one of my favourites from TS2 Pleasantview.
22 Canal Close - $17.926; 1 bed, 1 bath - my second cottage for Newcrest - the other one is just slightly more expensive and equally cute.
http://athena.thesims.com/v1/images/1/0x000026b5/5D52475F-112B-11E5-88DF-6AA84856B674/00.jpg
For those of you that filter out signatures, my OriginID is the same as my username here, in case you want to check out my other creations (mostly houses and rooms, a few Sims).
Should I make more starters (I think I will at some point), I'll try to remember to link them here ;)