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While I am not looking for a small house (I'm looking just over 2000 sq. ft.), I do find many of the houses ridiculous in how they allocate those extra square feet. I've seen houses that have a formal living room, a family room, a loft, and a bonus room!! Even if I like the other features in the house, I can't go for that kind of house because I can't even invent a purpose for all of those rooms.
I think recent economic conditions have caused many to change their philosophy towards home buying. In the past, when house prices only ever seemed to go up, it didn't seem like such a bad idea to buy the most house one could afford. 30 year mortgages three or four times the annual household income were the norm - just because the bank said you could afford it.
Now, I see people being much more conservative, living well within their means and buying "just enough" house.
The best small houses are inside the beltline in the Five Points area. There are also some nice neighborhoods just north of 40 (Durham) near Southpoint. Unfortunately, they're expensive. When we came here we looked for a small (under 2000 sq ft) quality built home with land but couldn't find what we wanted. Recently, i've been looking for mtn land and land near Beaufort to build a couple cottages. Finding good deals on lots but most of the time they have building restrictions (2000 sq ft +). I've stressed to the realtors that we're not looking for another house...we want a cottage.
seeing this thread reminded me of an article I read in the WSJ almost a year ago where John Wieland made a strategic shift to smaller homes to get the price point to the level that customers were prepared to pay in this economy. That meant eliminating fireplaces in southern homes and installing a media wall for large screen TV's instead (saving $3500). Shame they still build big a$$ homes on postage size lots
This is the issue. Many would love to downsize, but in this area, the smaller homes, especially new construction, typically are not built with the same level of fit and finsish as larger homes. In the few custom home neighborhoods that allow you to work with your own builder or a select group of custom builders in their network, there are often minimum requirements of 2500 sq. ft. or so. This is ludicrous. I live in a 2900 sq. ft. custom home in such a neighborhood (don't judge - we have 2 kids, in-home childcare, frequent overnight visitors and I work exclusively from home, so we use every room...and yes, we park both cars in the garage ). I would personally be fine with a well-built 1800 sq. ft. custom home beside me assuming it was built with a fit and finish which is consistent with other homes in the neighborhood.
I agree! I think a lot of us would prefer and not mind paying a little more, for a small to mid sized house of quality with plenty of storage, rec/kid space, and energy efficient. When I looked at new construction 2 yrs ago I was very discouraged, everything was huge! For 2 people I didn't need that much space, nor to waste time cleaning, and expense of heating, cooling it. I say never mind Martha Stewart designing houses, builders need moms & dads to help them decide what's needed in a home. And, yes, an office is a must for many of us.
While I do comment a lot about McMansions, I do know people who need a lot of space because of their work, hobbies, kids, etc. Honestly, if someone wants and can afford a McMansion, that's there business. It's just not for me. But now I am seeing that a lot of ppl feel the same way.
There has to be a niche for a builder willing to build for us babyboomers and folks wanting similar, in this area!
our home is just under 1400 sqft. it's the smallest of the models and it's compact. but it has bigger closets and actually the bedrooms are slightly bigger than some of the others. we are a family of 3, and although i wish my eating area were slightly bigger, it is the perfect size for us--we could add a child or 2 without a real problem. has everything we need.
I thought the most interesting part of the article was this:
What happened?
What happened was people began to be 2-income families and they could afford more. Also, financing terms changed a LOT--used to be you had to put down 30% (way back when). Then people just took on too much with the most recent problem being the no-income verification 0% down loans.
Now that lender requirements are tightening back up, and people are out of work, or have poorer credit due to bad debt like short sales, there just isn't the demand for the huge McMansions.
Shame they still build big a$$ homes on postage size lots
That's the part that drives me crazy. I'd be happy with a smaller home than I have now if I could keep the lot. The trend in new construction to clear-cut and level everything then squeeze the maximum number of houses in the development really eliminates some of the character developments could have.
I do find many of the houses ridiculous in how they allocate those extra square feet. I've seen houses that have a formal living room, a family room, a loft, and a bonus room!!.
We have lived in our house for 3 years and have never used the formal dining room. . . . . well, I take that back. . . we put our Xmas tree in there each year. What a waste of space. We didn't even bother to buy dining room furniture.
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). I would personally be fine with a well-built 1800 sq. ft. custom home beside me assuming it was built with a fit and finish which is consistent with other homes in the neighborhood.
