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Isn't this thread about people who CAN afford a 3000-4000 sq ft house? Well, until people decided to lecture that "nobody NEEDS a 4000 sq ft house!".
Completely off the topic. But now it's fashionable to insist market segmentation is evil and everyone "needs "the same thing".
Bada Bing! We sold a 3,300 sq ft house to retire in a 2,861 sq ft house. Yup two of us, had a dog but just about the right size and perfect layout for us. Yup 3 1/2 baths and we use all of them daily.
We each grew up in one bath homes and never ever again. There is always another one on each floor.
I never could understand why someone NEEDS a 3 or 4k sqft house. Some retail stores are that.
And thise who have them do nothing but complain about property taxes being so high. Well, duh! You've got the equivalent of a Victorian sized mansion! Victorian mansions were either for 1) the very wealthy, or 2) muliple generations under one roof.
It's no wonder they will have trouble unloading it when they "downsize".
Give me 1k OR LESS ( our house is 896 sqft, bonus room included) any day.
Now, I don't have kids, but they don't all need their own br and bathroom. They can be bunked with a sibling, after all when they get married, they will share a room with a spouse......itll be good practice.
And if you need not one, but 2 or more "walk in closets", perhaps you have too many clothes, not just not enough closet space.
And WHY have " two (or more) of everything " in a single house? (Living room AND family room AND a bonus room; or dining room AND breakfast nook)? Two bathrooms WOULD BE NICE, but my OH deal with JUST one. I grew up with one bath shared by 4 people. It was a miracle to my parents to actually have indoor plumbing!!!
If they can't sell, or can't get what they consider a fair price, they got to enjoy it, and get what they deserve for being greedy.
The trend towards smaller or "tiny" houses fuels the smaller house generation, who doesn't want a "McMansion" to clean and keep up.
So I don't feel sorry for them, as I sit in my cozy "little house".
It's nice to see someone here who thinks as I do! I love the unfettered bliss of small house living, especially in retirement.
Just reading the excerpts, the article is completely meaningless to me.
The first guy obviously isn't concerned. OR he's underwater and pretending he's keeping it for grandchildren. LOL. But OK, I know a TON of "older" people with large 5/6 BR homes at the beach and the grown family members come down all the time to visit and would totally want those homes. I have one client with one on the beach and one in Maine for summer and he lives in an Independent Living apartment size CCRC. But he still goes and hangs out at his places and they have family get togethers there.
The Conn, people? Meaningless, too. Probably underwater or not accepting the comps. Wanting to cash out higher. The particularly FUNNY part is CONN is the type of place that LOVES high taxes and growth/govt restrictions but NOW they want to "move South"?
Is that because they've suddenly adopted Southern values? /sarc
More hits on cheaper smaller properties? DUH. Lots of people who foreclosed in the crash or new people wanting to buy are now re-entering the buying market. It took a couple of years.
*shrug
EVERYONE moving to my county in FL is buying large SFH when they're only two people. New construction or recently built. No, not 4000 SF but plenty around 3000 - 3500.
I just left an HOA I work in and the entire development is 3500 SF. And NOW a couple of formerly unbuilt lots are for sale. Either by the people who bought them for future use, or the contiguous owner or whatever. My client was a early retirement couple. She still works and they travel alot.
ONE thing we learned in the past is you can't take what these people say seriously.
REMEMBER in 2008? "NOW is the TIME TO BUY!!!" (realtor desperation -I guess they're doing it in the reverse now - NOW IS THE TIME TO SELL!!!!)
Even here on CD!
The article may be meaningless to you but posts such as these are meaningless to most of us. Some of the things mentioned here are patently false and also ridiculous. You make such broad claims that cannot be supported by fact or common sense. Connecticut is a state of over 3.5 million people - I challenge you to find ONE who "LOVES" high taxes. I also find it odd that you seem to have a problem with government regulations yet are a staunch proponent of HOAs and their often crushing regulations and inconsistent application.
Most people buying a house to live in or rent are welcome to zoning restrictions that keep their neighbor from opening an auto recycling business next door or a McDonalds beyond their back fences without needing to rely on a self-appointed neighborhood busybody to decide on enforcement. Most would rather have laws regulating parking, garbage removal and things as simple as fences rather than that neighbor.
And no, "EVERYONE" moving to your county is not buying houses over 3,000 feet in size, regardless of how many people will live there.
I can understand it - I finally got my dream home - 2300 sq ft and now wish I would have bought a smaller home - even though we have 2 kids and animals I feel the home is too large - we only use our formal dining room once a year and have a spare room that is just a catch-all and it takes forever to clean (too cheap and dont like strangers touching my things - so no cleaning lady) also our cooling bill is sky high.
I dream of a smaller home - in this case - bigger is not better
Sure been there done that if market conditions haven't tightened and sellers don't exceed buyers in your price range. We went through that when we sold heading into retirement. There were about 7 houses in our zip code and price range on the market. Five of us sold at various points. I had a neighbor selling a comparable house at the same time. We got the current listing minus 5k and a buyer who put 260K down. My neighbor had a comparable house for the same price and got 15k less than us or 20K below asking. His buyer had all kinds of financing problems and it took for ever to settle.
The two houses on the market that didn't sell went into what we then found out was the full blown housing recession and a coupel we knew sold a year than us at a price of about 130K less. Forced them to completely redo their retirement plans as they were transplanting and didn't have the money they expected.
We never considered the value of our house as part of assets for retirement. You have to live somewhere, you cannot just cash it in. In our area condos cost the same, or higher, than what we will net. Top of it is condo fees of 300 or more per month. And you still pay property tax. Pay off your mortgage before you retire.
While this isn't most seniors it is a segment of the market and a segment that often provides the growth for active 55 communities and CCRC's
More from the link:
Will the buyers be there for expensive CCRC's if needed to be sold? Active 55 down the road? etc etc.
We sold almost ten years ago at about 90-95% of the recent market peak. We got out just in time and many others who didn't sell are still behind are just about where they were then and still not at peak. Part of the reason is their house is now thirty years old and not the new thang they once were. Folks who refinanced 11 years ago could well be in a bind now in their 60's plus.
Not much different than the previous generation having houses in the country that no one wanted with the possible exception that many of these houses the Boomers own are in high property tax locations and expense.
No matter where you buy, you are accepting the risk that what you bought could go up or down in value.
We never considered the value of our house as part of assets for retirement. You have to live somewhere, you cannot just cash it in. In our area condos cost the same, or higher, than what we will net. Top of it is condo fees of 300 or more per month. And you still pay property tax. Pay off your mortgage before you retire.
Yes and when moving you cash it in and use that to buy anew. How much you cash in helps determine how much you buy anew or how much you have left to invest or for a second place. I knew lots of people who had their growth in home equity as part of their retirement plan.
Prior to retiring we owned four houses all in the same general area. As with many other people we moved up to bigger houses using previous equity. This was in an area of rapid growth and accelerated housing appreciation. Many of these same people are transplanting in retirement or buy luxury senior oriented housing. Equity was key to all of that. A lot of it is driven by how much houses have accelerated over time and how much that equity is. 50k v 500k etc.
We have a 25 year old, 6 bedroom, 4700 sq ft, 3 story house on a half acre lot adjacent to a park. We're retired. The house is long paid off. Although we've considered moving we've never found another place where the benefit exceeds the cost. Furthermore, we get the retiree property tax credit for Colorado homeowners. If we move, we lose it.
The benefit of staying here is it has plenty of room for children and grandchildren and their nanny to visit all at once. They're coming next week!
This is our 4th house. I designed it to exactly fit our needs. It is about 95% perfect for us. It has plenty of storage and I know where everything is. I've also updated everything so although it is big, it is energy efficient.
Furthermore, when you retire, you'll both be in the house at the same time for a lot of the time. Having space allows you to do projects without getting on each others nerves.
A house is kind of like a car. Each one sets a new baseline. For example, in a car, after you get the electric windows and the auto locking doors with key fob, you don't go back.
I worked my a$$ off for 43 years. I paid for this luxury and I'll enjoy it until I have to move. It will actually be easy to sell because our economy here is growing and houses in this area sell in about 4 weeks.
I think it was the way of many of us (boomers) to "one-up" our parents, as they tried to do, remember...? My 1st-generation, Depression-Era Italian parents grew up in row homes in South Philly. No yards - perhaps a teeny patch of green in back where they could grow their beloved tomato plants.
Then the "big move" out to the burbs and a 1500 SF pristine split-level, with a nice, thick lawn and one and ONE-HALF baths You never saw such neighborhood appreciation (in the self-pride sense) as displayed by the city escapees which they did for their children.
Both my brother (two kids) and I (no kids; 2-3 big dogs) had tiny starter homes. Later moved on to the 2000 SF 4 bedroom, TWO and one-half baths with the third or half acre. That was enough for us. Now both greatly downsized: brother because kids are grown and out and me because my job market tanked and could no longer afford the upkeep. I never had the need and he never had the desire for the rather pretentious, gaudy McMansion. Personally, I find them utterly ridiculous, and I resent them for raping the landscape in many farming areas here in my state of PA. WHY do people need that much? I don't get it; and I suppose I never will.
An acquaintance of mine recently boasted that her son, who lives in an enormous home (5 bedrooms, 4 baths), recently had his 3-car garage converted to EXTRA CLOSET SPACE for his two teenage daughters, both of whom have huge bedrooms with huge closets already. What the HECK??!! Go figure.
Good post, lots of truth. No on needs a 4,000 sq. ft house...
Your opinion only.
I live alone in a 3,100 sq ft house (well, with my bicycles) and use pretty much every bit of it. And, I bought it myself as a single female. I could sell it tomorrow at twice (or more) of what I paid for it, but location, location, location. Besides, the only two condo buildings where I would accept living, I'd be paying another $100K or more for half that space (or even less).
So no problem in selling large houses here, suburbs or not. In fact, in most of the urban core here, they are tearing down small ranchers and building two large (vertical) houses on the same lot.
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Go figure.
