Lower birth rates and the future of those BIG HOUSES?

[kdonnel]

Homes are getting bigger and bigger here in Metro Atlanta.

The neighborhoods being built around me are all advertising 5 bedrooms as a selling point.

The infill houses being built around here, the ones that all look like something Joanna Gaines would build, white painted brick and black trim, are even larger in the 6 or 7 bedroom size.

What I have seen is a massive rise in neighborhoods being built as rental only. I believe Atlanta is leading the country in number of homes owned by investment companies and number of rental only neighborhoods being constructed. Those are all also 5 bedrooms.

I think big homes are here to stay.

 

[KayKayJS]

We only have 1 child and with 2,400 sqft (3 bedrooms, office, loft/playroom) this house is just about perfect size. Every single room in this house gets use regularly. The 3rd bedroom is our guest room and my mom visits regularly.

However, when/if we move we will be looking for at least one additional bedroom. We'd like an additional office/guest room space because we both WFH.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We went from a 1400 square foot ranch in California to a 7500 square foot home in the South East. We are a family of 3. Yes, it's a big house but knew when we saw it that it was the one. We have been updating/remodeling since moving in 9 years ago. Surprisingly we use a lot of the space. I know there will come a time to down size . We do have a nice size bedroom and bathroom on the main floor which can be used as a master if need be.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don't think houses will necessarily get smaller. Larger houses with bedrooms aren't always used as bedrooms so going in with the thought that only people with young kids are wanting multi-bedroom larger homes is just frankly too old school for modern times.

Is there effect somewhere? Sure. One of the elementary schools in the district my house is in is closing down but being repurposed due to less children in that immediate area but that's not new it's where the populations shift and move within an area and at the moment it's pushing more westward in my city. That said there is a decline in birth rates that will/can cause pockets of areas where fewer people throughout the years are being replaced with new individuals but that I don't think will have an effect on larger homes being seen as desirable.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

A bigger problem in my area is open floor plan regret. People seem to going back to preferring rooms on the first floor rather than the decorating and privacy issues which can be an issue with open concept. Maybe that's a regional change.

I think people still want some openness to their floor plan. What they don't want any more if they ever really did is one big room with the kitchen in some corner somewhere that you can see from everywhere in the house not named bedroom or bathroom.

 

[Disneylover99]

It's not always a matter of finances. Here in Calgary my company builds 500+ new units per year and our customer base is now 60% first or second generation Canadians, predominantly from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Most of them start out with a lot (by our standards) of people living together in very modest homes which one would assume they're doing to get everybody a financial toe-hold and then acquire their own single-family homes. Nope - that is not their goal, not at all. When they have the means they buy bigger, better houses in nicer areas where they can all continue to live together because this is their cultural norm and it will never change. And many smaller families buying our bigger product are not doing it with an eye towards expanding their own family with a lot of children. The plan is to be able to accommodate many other family members who are also trying to make it to Canada.

I definitely agree. It’s mostly the multi generational families from Southeast Asia and the Middle East in my area who are buying the new builds with 5+ bedrooms.

I do find that some of the younger Canadian couples in those families do wish they could break free from this tradition and have some independence of their own, but it’s not easy for them. There are lots of pressures from within the families to stay together.

 

[barkley]

What they don't want any more if they ever really did is one big room with the kitchen in some corner somewhere that you can see from everywhere in the house

that's not the case if you go by any of the house flipping or renovation shows in recent years. I get the idea of 'open concept' but it's so common to see the entire non bedroom/bath area of an existing home gutted of all the separating walls and converted to a single kitchen/living space. kitchen islands have become the focal point of these rooms with the mindset that counter seating makes up for the fact you are left post reno/flip with only enough living space for maybe a couple of chairs or a downsized sofa (loveseat maybe?). it's one thing if you've got a separate living space (den/familyroom/basement) but when it's something like the 1080 or smaller circa '50's build like I grew up in that was extra living space that did'nt exist (and in an area where basements were not possible).

 

[disneycat321]

*deleted*

 

[MillauFr]

so an individual city can't outright restrict but that does'nt override existing local and state health, safety and building codes. in the case of the large city near us there's no reasonable ingress and egress to the lots the city politicians point to as ideal (based on the yard sizes) so a proposed home(s) would'nt meet fire code. the only conceivable means of widening the existing alleys or creating streets from scratch would (I imagine) entail the very costly, time consuming and litigous concept of eminent domain (and then you get into the whole issue of land that is prohibited from building on due to easements from privately owned power companies). the existing water and sewer systems are so old that additional bathrooms (and in many cases bedrooms b/c of perceived increased water usage) have been prohibited for decades so an additional structure could not be permitted for attachment.

I get the spirit of the law when it comes to open undeveloped areas of land (which if I remember correctly is what the cle elum dispute involves) but when it comes to existing older neighborhoods it's very difficult.

Yes Cle Elum gambled and lost. Now they are bankrupt.

 

[georgina]

You are assuming the projection doesn’t change. This is flawed on its face to me as it assumes the cultural makeup doesn’t change and that AI doesn’t start rapidly taking over white collar jobs (which would leaving a chunk of women with not much else to do with their lives).

Can't tell if you meant this as a joke or not, but it's not a nice depiction of women.

If things keep getting worse with the economy I can see people deliberately choosing not to have kids.