Houses--why so BIG? (Raleigh, Durham, Cary: environment, relocating, transplants)

[newmom5497]

We currently live in a 1900 sq. ft. house in NJ and are relocating to NC this summer. All of the houses in our price range $200-225---seem to be so BIG! We want something newer(not brand new) in a family-type neighborhood, but I was actually wanting something smaller(1700-1800 sq. ft.) and its hard to find.

Why in the world do people need houses so big these days?? Obviously builders build larger homes because there is a want for them...but it just seems so wasteful to me.

Just curious as to why people want/need a house much bigger than what they need. It seems so many "extra" rooms sit unempty the majority of the time in these bigger houses.

[adlnc07]

There are some subdivisions with smaller homes in Apex, but I agree that the trend definitely seems to be 2200sf & up. As a single person living alone, the 1800sf I have is plenty. It will be challenge to find a house with more land, without winding up with something crazy like 2600sf.

[gastric]

Buy a cheaper house?

[adlnc07]

Oh and if you don't need a big yard, check out Park Village in Cary. The houses there seem to be on the smaller side and cute. The downside is the lots are pretty tiny as well.

edit: And yeah, I almost posted you should look at houses under $200K as well to get the size down. It seems like houses run around $100-$110/sf, so to get the size you want, look at less expensive houses.

[MAtoNC!]

I saw plenty of 1600-1800 ft houses in Clayton when I did a search. Transplants probably like a bigger home in NC because of the lack of basements, etc.

[muse1110]

Originally Posted by adlnc07

Oh and if you don't need a big yard, check out Park Village in Cary. The houses there seem to be on the smaller side and cute. The downside is the lots are pretty tiny as well.

Lots are tiny, you are correct. We're renting a 1200 sq ft 3 bed in Park Village. I'm amazed at how small the homes are for the number of bedrooms.

We moved from a 150 ft. back garden. Not entire lot size, that's just the back garden. I cannot get over how tiny the back gardens are, even for homes that are 4,000 sq ft! Our realtor said we will find that 'everywhere' in NC, as the builders want to make as much money as they can.

Shame! Kids need more area to play and explore safely, grow a garden. We see a lot of dogs chained to a rope between two trees so they can only run back and forth. Not good.

[MrsSteel]

NewMom, I recently finished house hunting & saw plenty of properties that fit your desires - and under $200K. However, they weren't new construction. Most were at least 10 years old.

I understand what you mean about all of those extra, empty rooms, too. I have some friends who recently bought a house with 4 more bedrooms than they need. Granted, it's because they plan on having kids within the next decade & they don't want to move again, but in the mean time they've basically shut down the entire 2nd floor to their house because they don't need it. Amazing!

[NewUser]

Originally Posted by newmom5497

Just curious as to why people want/need a house much bigger than what they need. It seems so many "extra" rooms sit unempty the majority of the time in these bigger houses.

My wife and I had a 2800 sq ft house in Dallas and we never really used 4 of the rooms (2 bedrooms, a formal living, and a formal dining). Then we had a baby, so he took one of the rooms. Now we are expecting a second, so he/she would use the second bedroom. That still leaves 2 formal areas unused.

When we were shopping for a house here in Raleigh, we figured that we needed a similar house, but arranged differently to make better use of the space. We ended up trading the formal living room for a 2nd floor bonus room. This will be used for the kids' playroom and all of their toys. Everything else is pretty much the same. . . . . except. . . . .there is one extra bonus space on the second floor that I will be finishing out to create a family TV room/home theater.

[grifter]

Huge homes have been a trend almost everywhere for awile now. I think in the future we will see that shift to smaller dwellings as people become more environmentally conscious. There are several new design books on the market that feature ideas for how to live small.

The other day on the local news there was a segment about large homes being built in the Raleigh historic districts. They interviewed a guy who owned a cute little bungalow. His home was dwarfed by a monstrous new house being built next door. There was barely an arm's length between the bungalow and the new McMansion!

Most of the townhomes in my price range are 2,200 sq. ft. I have looked at smaller, less expensive townhomes, but they just aren't as nice. They are very vanilla with basic, boring floorplans.

[procfreq]

I'm in an established neighborhood in SW Durham, and my home and everything around it is approx 1600-1800 sf and $200-$225K. No, they're not new (late 80s, early 90s), but they're cute (not dated looking at all) and they're spaced well apart. In fact, I'd say all of the homes we looked at in Durham fit this description, and we looked in many different neighborhoods. How "new" do you want your home to be? I think you'll find what you're looking for if you focus on homes that are about 15-20 years old (in Durham, at least).

My father is a luxury home builder up North, and his stories just crack me up. In addition to HUGE homes, people are all demanding insane, schwanked out, professional-grade kitchens, all the while admitting that they never cook. Now THAT drives me bonkers.