"There was living space for thirteen families! In this one house!"
Posted on 06/03/2016 11:53:15 AM PDT by Lorianne
There was a small ray of hope just after the Lehman collapse that one of the most lamentable characteristics of US society - the relentless urge to build massive McMansions (funding questions aside) - was fading. Alas, as the Census Bureau confirmed this week, that normalization in the innate American desire for bigger, bigger, bigger not only did not go away but is now back with a bang.
According to just released data, both the median and average size of a new single-family home built in 2015 hit new all time highs of 2,467 and 2,687 square feet, respectively.
And while it is known that in absolute number terms the total number of new home sales is still a fraction of what it was before the crisis, the one strata of new home sales which appears to not only not have been impacted but is openly flourishing once more, are the same McMansions which cater to the New Normal uberwealthy (which incidentally are the same as the Old Normal uberwealthy, only wealthier) and which for many symbolize America's unbridled greed for mega housing no matter the cost.
Not surprisingly, as size has increased so has price: as we reported recently, the median price for sold new single-family homes just hit record a high of $321,100.
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
However, I have a problem with zoning house police who restrict building smaller houses, or two smaller houses on one lot while allowing on ginormous house on one lot If it's 50% lot coverage, the house or houses should be any size the owner wants them to be.
Nobody wants them. Nobody wants your stucco crap build in a field 4,000 sq foot godless garbage house.
And on the flip side, nobody wants your Marxist "tiny house" on wheels that can't be parked either.
Did the cat mistake your cheerios for a litter box this morning?
Interest rates are still low enough for folks to afford more house than they need, and builders are obliging them.
"There was living space for thirteen families! In this one house!"
Really? I watched 3 hours of Tiny Houses on HGTV last weekend(yeah I have no life if its raining and I cannot cut the grass! LOL)
In the immortal words of Barack Obama, “You don’t need that.”
So, after decades of overcrowded Northeasterners bought their mansions, an increase of such in the South is fodder for concern? And noting that most of these have A/C must come as no surprise to anyone living in the South. Maybe Obama represents more of the zeitgeist than we give him credit for, if there’s something wrong with wanting more.
Or it’s just more New York Values.
The return of the “granny flat” is desperately needed.
LOL and well said.
Off topic -—
I was surprised to find out yesterday
that there really is a product called
“Grandma’s Lye Soap.” It’s in the book!
That one comment right there distills Marixist, collectivist thought. They decry the human animal's desire to improve one's condition. For as long as that desire exists, then collectivist control is not workable.
The desire to live comfortably, to provide for one's family, to want better for your progeny - the Godless Marxists cannot abide it.
Ping
Somehow, I don’t consider the size of other people’s houses to be any of my business. I’m not the one paying for them or paying the property taxes every year.
Actually people want both. Sorry either trend bothers you, but they are both quite popular.
They are coming back my sister the granny and her family are going into one
Prebuilt garage/sheds in the Pittsburgh area are only around $10,000 for a 14’ x 40’ unit delivered. Highly convertible into a home if you add another $5K or so for the lot and leveling.
It’s not healthy to be consumed with envy. While some of those 4,000 sq ft McMansions can be eyesores, I don’t begrudge those with the means to build them. I’m staying in Naperville this week which is probably the epicenter of suburban wealth in the Chicago area. What amazes me more than the nonstop gated communities are the miles and miles of strip malls with zillions of restaurants and scores of big box stores that repeat themselves every few miles. People here eat out 4-5 times a week. It does seem to be a nice place to raise children as there are tons of ball fields and parks. The traffic is something else though and these Illinois people love their traffic lights. It can sometimes take a half hour to crawl one mile and the light stays red for as much as five minutes at a time.
My wife and I recently relocated to Connecticut and downsized to a 3,000 sq ft home. Seems big for two people but we wanted to have extra bedrooms so our grown children can visit yet not make it so comfortable that they want to stay too long. We have a dog and four acres of land, mostly woods, for the dog to run around and collect ticks.
Little pink houses, for you and me.
BS, no one in Middle America can afford or wants to spend outrageous expenses to heat and cool these monstrosities.
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