End Of McMansions? Does this speak for Atlanta as well? (Buckhead: short sales, foreclosures)

[FlyiMetro]

Originally Posted by AcidSnake

Great points.



You need to listen to some of that conservative talk radio sometimes. Picking on poor people is a regular pastime for that industry.

Poor people??? I thought those shows were making fun of black people & sometimes mexicans.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by neil0311

There will always be high achievers and those who want more. These people WILL be able to afford what they want. Your outlook of shared future mediocrity is quite telling indeed.

Not everyone is faking success.

Well said, neil. There's a long history of successful people building substantial homes out in the suburbs -- take a look at what was being built in Ansley, Inman Park, Buckhead and Druid Hills a century ago. And that's true just about everywhere. (See, for instance http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/wo...-c+XPZwqqkMT8z).

Sure, some of it is for show. And some houses are repetitious and some are cheaply built. But many are carefully designed and built with considerable craftsmanship. The people who do it right are going green, too, and using smart, sustainable methods.

Another factor you can't overlook is that for more and more Americans home is not just a place to live but a place to work as well. It's estimated that 4.2 million Americans now work exclusively from home (a nearly 100 percent increase from 1990), while some 20 million do it part time. That represents a massive shift in the work force.

And children often stay at home longer these days, many well into their 20s and 30s. And even when they move out, grandparents may be tasked with substantial parenting duties.

So while poking fun at "McMansions" is sport for some, it overlooks important trends both historical and current.

[FromGA]

Following is from: Warren Buffett's Home - Pictures - Zimbio

"Warren Buffett the Worlds 3rd richest man with $ 47 billion dollars still lives in the same house in the same Happy Hollow neighborhood where he bought the home in 1958 for $31,500. It has 5 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and is 6234 square feet, the house was built in 1921. In 2005 it had a taxable value of $ 690,000. Down the same street about 1 mile away are the Berkshire Hathaway offices, one of the many buildings Warren Buffett owns in Omaha."

It may likely that some one really needs a 4000 sq ft home, and feels he/she deserves it, and can afford it. But its future value depends on whether it is in the right location, and what his/her neightbors are doing with regard to their 4000 sq ft houses.

[FromGA]

Originally Posted by arjay57

And children often stay at home longer these days, many well into their 20s and 30s. And even when they move out, grandparents may be tasked with substantial parenting duties.

"Household formation" (the ability for young people to live on their own) is one of the most important things to get us out of the current rut. Your example (while true) is self-feeding for further failure on the housing front.

[cityrover]

big is great if you can live with 1200$+ utility bills......

i'll stick with my measly shack and 300$ bills. can't bear more.

there is nothing wrong with excess; it is what drives an economy. easy money being spent on stupid things. it's great! you live and you die; why not live the best you can? and buffet is a psycho

[FromGA]

Originally Posted by cityrover

there is nothing wrong with excess; it is what drives an economy. easy money being spent on stupid things. it's great! you live and you die; why not live the best you can?

Agreed. But the question is: People bought 4000 sq ft houses in Atlanta to celebrate their success. Going forward, is that going to be a wise decision of not.

We should revisit this thread in a year from now!

[cityrover]

You never know.. If we all wanted 100% assurance in life we will never do anything because there will always be the overwhelming fear of failing.

If somebody had no reason to foresee a financial meltdown in his immediate future, i don't see how they can be faulted. If something happens years down the road, well such is life. move on, live with the memories and make the best of the new situation.

To me signing down for a 30 year note on its own is foolish. How do you know you will be able to pay it for 30 years? You dont. Therefore the amount itself has no relevancy; whether you pay 400 or 400000 it doesn't matter.

The people that screwed up are those who overspent on a house and gambled it's value will increase soon, like in california. Basically they knew they can't sustain the payments/upkeep longer than x but they figured house will hike up x% in y time and they will sell with a profit. And we know how that worked out. That to me is the only situation where the owner can be directly faulted completely

[chiatldal]

Originally Posted by globalnomad

Those owning McMansions, especially Boomers, had better be prepared to "age in place".

When you get ready to "downsize", who do you think is going to buy your big home with large energy foot print and outsized taxes?

Demographics indicate there won't be enough young buyers out there to take that McMansion off your hands when it comes time to buy a smaller place or move to assisted living.

Remember, young people of tomorrow won't be able to count on secure jobs and will need to be able to move where ever there is work. Renting gives them flexiblity while home ownership will trap them.

If they have learned anything from our great recession, they will be less likely to buy something they can't afford (like a big house).

Down the road, can you imagine millions of seniors trapped in their decaying McMansions? Unable to sell them and also unable to maintain them on retirement income?

This bring up another problem, the general median age is going to rise, the olderly population is going to increase significantly. I'm tired of everything getting politicalize is this not political, this is stupid vs smart to me. No one believe that people are going to stop completely wanting to live in large suburan homes and nor is any one trying to stop people from that. What many expert are saying is american culture may change and they're giving the reasons for their belives. Beyond the economic reasons, what’s popular among young adults, and the social trap effect which cause congestion or even the environment argument, is that when people grow elderly and their less able to drive they won’t be in walkable neighborhoods. In American culture now we are used to just dumping the elder population retirement homes and retirement communities and then get back to our young bias media world. But in the future because of the baby boom and birthrates are slowing down, a significant proportion of the American population will be elder, The large homes in sprawling built neighborhoods are thought to become a lot less popular. Again no one is forcing anything, the Atlanta regional commission itself is exactly taking this seriously they're not trying to ban Mcmansion, but encourage livable areas.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LyHXYTuzLE

[tonygeorgia]

This will never happen in Atlanta as long as housing in West/East Coast continue to be expensive

[roxyrn]

One of the reasons we bought our home is because it has a bedroom with full bath on the first floor (one small step leading into the house) so that our parents could live with us, if needed or if we need are unable someday to negotiate the steps.

I am also surprised that our larger, but newer home has much lower utility bills than we were paying in the New York area. July electric bill was $350- which does not seem unreasonable considering the heat and humidity.