Why are new homes built mostly McMansions when people want smaller?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

building with ZERO improvements or expansions for roads, schools, TRAFFIC, etc. It's unchecked.

That is something that the cities around here are enabling and yet not enabling. It usually takes a large uproar from neighbors in the surrounding area to put up a stink about it in order to have the cities rethink it. Not always but often. Plus the loss of trees and all that it comes with also becomes a sour point. This applies also to density of apartment complexes or duplex/fourplex and townhouses.

The schools are something that takes more into consideration movement. For example development is much more prevalent around me than years ago which then caused the school district my house is in to say it was time to build a 5th high school and an additional middle school. The high school they were able to get land close enough by, the middle school was built right next to the elementary school which wasn't originally planned that way. But they weren't going to do that until the development around here got to that point. However, these are paid for by school bonds charged to homeowners on their property tax. Conversely as people have moved away from certain parts I've watched how multiple of the schools in the district I grew up in close down due to not enough enrollment.

Some things like traffic control develops as conditions do. I've watched how just 1 exit to the north of me they figured out that it was time for a 4-way stop light in lieu of a 2-way stop sign but there actually isn't as much development there compared to my area which has no stop light near us at all. There's more population density basically around me compared to where they put the stop light. Conversely however when my neighborhood was started in 2005 it was planned that two roads would be widened to 2 lanes on each side instead of one lane on each side plus 2 roundabouts. It's 2024 and that has not been done yet because the neighborhood has not been fully built out yet. The funds for that is supposed to come out of a large fund paid for by charging homeowners only in the neighborhood for 13 or so years on their property tax, the closer you were to the main road the more you were charged. We only paid for like 3 years because of when we moved in. So that part was future planned out but 20 years later hasn't come to fruition yet.

 

[kdonnel]

Exactly. They are only building what buyers are demanding.

There are two trends here, bigger with people expected a house to have AT LEAST one dedicated home office space, or two.

I think the trend had been smaller before Covid. But after Covid the trend has been bigger. So many are still working from home and the extra space makes it better.

I know I enjoy having a dedicated work from home space since I am one of those still working from home.

 

[tvguy]

I think the trend had been smaller before Covid. But after Covid the trend has been bigger. So many are still working from home and the extra space makes it better.

I know I enjoy having a dedicated work from home space since I am one of those still working from home.

Our desktop computer s in the corner of our family room. The first couple of days of the 15 months I worked from home from an extra bedroom with my company laptop, but after that I just pushed the desk top keyboard back and setup the laptop there. Just worked better, I was a few feet from the kitchen where the coffee pot is, a few feet from a TV which I needed for my work, 16 feet from a second TV which I also used for work, and 10 feet from a bathroom. We were linked on zoom for the entire shift so I could run to the bathroom around the corner and still hear what was going on on zoom.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Anyone actually looking at Zillow or Trulia in your area?

Just curious of what others see with regard to home prices of available homes lingering on the markets, what I see is over the top $$$ with reductions noted and on the other side of the spectrum, homes that are older, neglected and needing tons of work.

I suppose point of view for favorites will be slanted towards wealth on here, I mean a person or family does need to be able to afford the disposable income to participate in the Disney experience in the first place so there must be some degree of financial comfort in the mix. Should have considered this when posting the thought...

 

[tvguy]

Anyone actually looking at Zillow or Trulia in your area?

Just curious of what others see with regard to home prices of available homes lingering on the markets, what I see is over the top $$$ with reductions noted and on the other side of the spectrum, homes that are older, neglected and needing tons of work.

I suppose point of view for favorites will be slanted towards wealth on here, I mean a person or family does need to be able to afford the disposable income to participate in the Disney experience in the first place so there must be some degree of financial comfort in the mix. Should have considered this when posting the thought...

I am watching a house on my daughter's street, but clearly there is something going one there.
It was first listed on March 15th for $370,000. Price was cut on March 24 to $364,500. Listing was removed April 4th. It was listed again April 15th, with a different Realtor for $360,000. I would say all those prices are still over the top for a 2 bedroom 1 bath 886 square foot duplex. But not sure that one is an accurate example because, like I said, it seems something is going on there.

 

[kdonnel]

Anyone actually looking at Zillow or Trulia in your area?

Just curious of what others see with regard to home prices of available homes lingering on the markets, what I see is over the top $$$ with reductions noted and on the other side of the spectrum, homes that are older, neglected and needing tons of work.

I suppose point of view for favorites will be slanted towards wealth on here, I mean a person or family does need to be able to afford the disposable income to participate in the Disney experience in the first place so there must be some degree of financial comfort in the mix. Should have considered this when posting the thought...

There are probably 30 new construction neighborhoods within 30 miles of my home. Some advertised in the 300’s, which turns out to be 400’s, some in the 500’s which is really 600’s, and some in the 600’s which is really the 700’s by the time people are done customizing.

All are selling well.

 

[cvjw]

We are in metro atlanta. My younger son is looking for a townhouse. He is looking in the 500K range and the good ones sell as soon as they hit the market. They are building new builds like crazy around us. There are some price reductions on less desirable homes, but the market still seems ok here.

 

[Smugpugmug]

My job deals with assisting with websites for home builders. Obviously not allowed to specify which builders I am referring to but I would say on average the majority of homes I see are in the $300k-800k price range. The outliers are over $1 million townhomes in Orlando and even a $3 million home in Utah.

Most homes I see are 2 bed/2 bath or 3 bed/2 bath and are in the 1800-3200 sqft range. These homes are also mostly 'build on your lot' type scenarios, meaning that the buyer can pick a floorplan and elevation for the builder to build on the land.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I have to disagree with the premise--builders build what they can sell at a reasonable profit. I'm going to assume that they have the pulse on the market in their area. We've had some work done on our current house, same contractor (we like and trust him). He could tell you exactly how many square feet of buildable land there is in our city.

We happened to get lucky--we had a 5-day house-hunting trip in 2015, and happened on this house, in a great school district, close to a bunch of stuff, backing up to a golf course. Houses in this neighborhood get snapped up super quick--ours is one of the largest, but not fanciest. When we moved in, we were the "young uns" on the block--everyone else had been here 30+ years. Now, there's some turnover. Sadly, our neighbors across the street both have dementia--their daughters are cleaning out and the house will go on the market next week. There's already interest in it, "as-is" (the family doesn't have the time or resources to get it "show ready").

 

[MillauFr]

To the point they are allowing housing to be built with NO parking

Why should government stick its nose into something like parking? Shouldn't that decision be between the builder and the buyer?

 

[tvguy]

Why should government stick its nose into something like parking? Shouldn't that decision be between the builder and the buyer?

What local government did was remove the requirements for builder to include parking. Zoning like that is what government does.

 

[focusondisney]

Why should government stick its nose into something like parking? Shouldn't that decision be between the builder and the buyer?

Parking or lack thereof affects the whole area, especially in inner cities. When some homes were built 100 years go, there were a lot fewer cars. Now families have multiple cars. Planning for where they’re parked definitely can affect the quality of life for all citizens. Towns & cities here regulate which side of the street you can park on & which days or hours you can park. Requiring parking spaces seems no different than regulating other things, like how big the house can be etc.

 

[MillauFr]

Parking or lack thereof affects the whole area, especially in inner cities. When some homes were built 100 years go, there were a lot fewer cars. Now families have multiple cars. Planning for where they’re parked definitely can affect the quality of life for all citizens. Towns & cities here regulate which side of the street you can park on & which days or hours you can park. Requiring parking spaces seems no different than regulating other things, like how big the house can be etc.

Private developers can provide and sell parking if they want to. Government should not provide free storage space for private property.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I'm not sure of the OP's age, but the only places like that in my state (NJ) are 55+ communities. And while some of the older 55+ places have a lot of smaller single floor homes to choose from the newer ones offer single level homes starting around 2,000 sq ft on up to over 3,200 with a second floor....some in between with a loft. All have a primary bedroom on the first floor.

However, in my area, the only available land for new developments like this are in the ex-urbs....far away from anything. It's not too different than where my FIL lives...in one of these communities built 25 years ago, about 45 minutes south of us....or as my husband says, "you might as well be on the moon"....lol.

Other than that, in most towns around here, especially the two to the east of me....any older ranch or two story home is scooped up by a builder, knocked down and a ridiculously oversized McMansion is built there. Those houses are usually purchased by a higher income millennial couple settling here with kids.

 

[mjkacmom]

But I just read new home sales are not great, this does not support the idea there is demand
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-new-home-sales-unexpectedly-fall-february-2024-03-25/

Seems many older people are staying in bigger homes simply because they can't find smaller in their safe familiar environments. Trouble with this is older people do not spend in the same town sustaining ways as younger families, they don't hire teens as babysitters or support schools as volunteers or spend as much on kids in sports and band etc. It's not great for local economies to have older people in homes where the tax revenues need the sort of spending feed that families provide.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/16/econ...ger-homes-than-millennial-families/index.html

There used to be moderate new options, this fed the boom in the 90s and early 2000s before the McMansion and swapping craze. I can't see how abandoned home build sites are better than a buzzing moderate home build site with hand over fist movement of homes. The cheaper things cost the more people can afford it the faster it moves, its just so basic.

Here homeowners support the town with their 5 figure property tax bills (and parents aren’t allowed to volunteer in schools, never mind seniors). Seniors do complain about how much they pay every year to support the schools, even though a good school system keeps home values higher. The only new construction are tear downs, and since the land is worth much more than the home, builders try to make homes as large as possible, since many original homes here built 70 - 100+ years ago tend to be smaller.

 

[goofyernmost]

I suppose part of it is the idea that todays home buyer does not really look into the future. YOLO. I guess it is clever because if we were to have a severe economic downturn again (depression) then they at least can be a squatter in a much nicer place.

 

[Disneylover99]

Anyone actually looking at Zillow or Trulia in your area?

Just curious of what others see with regard to home prices of available homes lingering on the markets, what I see is over the top $$$ with reductions noted and on the other side of the spectrum, homes that are older, neglected and needing tons of work.

I suppose point of view for favorites will be slanted towards wealth on here, I mean a person or family does need to be able to afford the disposable income to participate in the Disney experience in the first place so there must be some degree of financial comfort in the mix. Should have considered this when posting the thought...

Every home (big, small, new, old, staged, as is) will sell if the price is right.
The homes that have been on the market here for months are listed way too high and the seller won’t budge on the price. They’re obviously not in any hurry to sell.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I suppose part of it is the idea that todays home buyer does not really look into the future. YOLO. I guess it is clever because if we were to have a severe economic downturn again (depression) then they at least can be a squatter in a much nicer place.

Some Boomers are still YOLOing....but some are looking into the future, At least some realizing that the homes they have aren't going to work to "age in place", which is what everyone wants to do....until it's no longer feasible anyway.

I've read a couple of articles recently on the Boomers and their homes and each article put a different spin on their housing situations. The Wall Street Journal had a piece about Boomers being reluctant to part with the large houses that they owned. It sort of painted them as not giving up their "too large for them" suburban homes for the next generation. They're YOLOing...and none of these folks seemed to have issues with stairs yet.

The other one is from this weekend, and seems more similar to the OP's situation. Boomers looking to "downsize" in their existing towns/communities, either to get rid of stairs, to get rid of upkeep...or both. The latter is having a tough time finding the homes that they'd like saying that new builds that were "smaller" were three floor townhomes. That gets rid of the yard, but not the steps obviously. These more practical boomers are going to have to get lucky to stay in their towns in a single floor dwelling.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Anyone actually looking at Zillow or Trulia in your area?

Just curious of what others see with regard to home prices of available homes lingering on the markets, what I see is over the top $$$ with reductions noted and on the other side of the spectrum, homes that are older, neglected and needing tons of work.

I suppose point of view for favorites will be slanted towards wealth on here, I mean a person or family does need to be able to afford the disposable income to participate in the Disney experience in the first place so there must be some degree of financial comfort in the mix. Should have considered this when posting the thought...

I read an article in the WSJ that very high end home sellers are having to slash their prices more and more to move them. But we're talking multi-millions...mostly on the coasts.

In my area, homes are moving if they're under 3 million, and quickly. One reason....there's very little inventory. Anything under one million goes within a week or so. I wish we were ready to sell because our house is around 800K, but we're still likely a couple of years away from that. Still, I'm not concerned about house prices dropping in any meaningful way because there is truly a housing shortage.

If anything, when mortgage rates do eventually begin to fall a bit, we may indeed see prices rise as this "frozen market" begins to thaw a bit.

 

[Brian Noble]

Why are new homes built mostly McMansions when people want smaller?

In and around Ann Arbor, a very good chunk of (and probably most) new construction is in the from of townhouses or mid-rise condo buildings. They tend to be high-end in terms of fit and finish, and are still not cheap (at least, not cheap for the Midwest). So they are still quite profitable, but they are much more effective uses of the land.

There are some McMansions, but increasingly they seem to be the exception.

I just moved into a condo in the next town over from A2. The buildings are each two stories, with four units on each floor. Two bed, one bath, just under 1,000 sq. ft. It was built in 2000. Not a lot being built like that right now, but such things do exist.