Durham Offering Small Homes on Small Lots for Over a Half Million - Huh?! (Raleigh: apartments, rental)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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According to this article, Durham has a new development built on 1,200 square feet, without much yard space, with a listing price of $525K. This high-density development at the corner of Club and Gregson is meant to help the housing crunch in the city, but the price tag is higher than the median for houses on the market, especially when one looks at the cost per square footage.
Seems to me this "small lot option" of building homes on lots as small as 2K square feet will benefit newcomers but have little to no appeal to anyone already living in the city. Anyone think otherwise.
Agreed, because of the price. If they were more affordable it might appeal to some already here who live in apartments, or just don't much care about a big yard. But the price is so prohibitive that it certainly doesn't help the existing affordability crisis.
"Realtor Matt Lunceford Blivin says it's a great way to break into the market."
Ok...not at $525K unless you're coming from somewhere where you sold for much higher or you have significant family contribution to that down payment.
Sounds like a lot... but it's a whole lot less than the $795K, $885K, $900K that other new construction has recently sold for within a few blocks.
You'd never compare new car prices to used car prices, so why do so for houses?
Land prices are often 1/4 to 1/3 of the total price of a house -- so shrinking the lot can't cut the cost of the resulting house that drastically.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NM posts
Houses look nice, though
If the result looks nice, doesn't hurt anyone, and works for someone (dozens have already been built and presumably happily found renters/buyers)... why not legalize other people doing something that works for them? Maybe more yard space is a requirement for you, but it's not for a lot of other people -- myself included.
If they sell at or over list price, the builders have the market figured out.
If they don't sell, or sell at much lower prices, swing and a miss as they say at DBAP.
I foresee temp housing, whether rental or purchase.
Given the location and the construction, the price doesn't seem out of line. Can't imagine a new SFH in that area being much less.
For better or worse, there are parts of the Triangle that just aren't going to be particularly affordable anymore for most first time home buyers or lower or middle income folks no matter how much housing is added.
I see more and more new developments with no yards and they are selling. I've seen many younger people (and others) prefer this over a big yard that they would have to maintain. So I don't think this will be much of an issue. What may be an issue though is the 1200sf of living space. That just seems very small especially for the price. But if the area is nice and close to amenities (I don't know that area at all) then I'm sure they will have no problem selling.
I see more and more new developments with no yards and they are selling. I've seen many younger people (and others) prefer this over a big yard that they would have to maintain. So I don't think this will be much of an issue. What may be an issue though is the 1200sf of living space. That just seems very small especially for the price. But if the area is nice and close to amenities (I don't know that area at all) then I'm sure they will have no problem selling.
For the target market for these homes; I don't think 1200 sq ft living space will feel small at all. That's honestly larger than many of the existing pre-WWII bungalows near downtown/Old West Durham that have been selling like hotcakes for the past few years; even before the 2021 madness began.
Though I agree with Mike's hinting that many if not most of them will likely sell to non-owner occupants and end up as AirBnB and the likes. Ironic considering the alleged "intention" of the development to make more housing units available for residents but hey...
EDIT: Just noticed that the homes are designated in the MLS as officially being located in the Trinity Park neighborhood.....kinda debatable if they get to claim that moniker but I have no doubt people will eat it up.
According to this article, Durham has a new development built on 1,200 square feet, without much yard space, with a listing price of $525K. This high-density development at the corner of Club and Gregson is meant to help the housing crunch in the city, but the price tag is higher than the median for houses on the market, especially when one looks at the cost per square footage.
Seems to me this "small lot option" of building homes on lots as small as 2K square feet will benefit newcomers but have little to no appeal to anyone already living in the city. Anyone think otherwise.
At a quick glance, the houses don't seem to be out of whack with the $/sf of the neighborhood especially if one considers they are new construction. So your assumption that they wouldn't have much appeal to current residents assumes that the current residents really want a larger lot.
I'd say that a lot of people don't like to share any kind of wall or roof, but are ambivalent about having much yard.
If the result looks nice, doesn't hurt anyone, and works for someone (dozens have already been built and presumably happily found renters/buyers)... why not legalize other people doing something that works for them? Maybe more yard space is a requirement for you, but it's not for a lot of other people -- myself included.
I answered the question originally posed by the poster with my thought.
Nobody is making anything illegal
In the context of what the original poster asked, I think the price is prohibitive and doesn't really go with the Durham push toward density as a solution to finding affordable housing.
Putting that aside, they look to be gorgeous homes that are fine for someone who wants to pay that and doesn't care about a yard.
If they sell at or over list price, the builders have the market figured out.
If they don't sell, or sell at much lower prices, swing and a miss as they say at DBAP.
I foresee temp housing, whether rental or purchase.
I actually think they'll sell wayyyyyy over - but to people moving here from elsewhere, in general.
Two houses sold in my neighborhood for some pretty shocking prices recently! Don't know yet who bought them. But I think that price in that neighborhood won't be an issue for some, especially tech relocators.
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