1. More land to build there Manse. Its easier and cheaper to build a McMansion 40 miles from work in the Exurbs, than it is to buy an already constructed on closer in. A friend of mine built a McMansion for about $1M in Hunterdon County, NJ, which would cost $4-5 million in eastern Morris County, some 25-30 miles closer in.
Yeah, I understand the economics, I just find McMansions aesthetically empty. It seems to me that if you're going to go to all the trouble of buying the land and building the house, then it should be something with a little more class.