Why are all new houses so HUGE!!??!! Looking for "smaller" home in Berthoud...

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by emm74

Some people don't "accept" small yards, they welcome them - and happily trade in larger yards for public greenspace where neighbors congregate and kids play together, rather than separately in their own large fenced yards. It may not be your choice, but it's a valid choice and one that makes my new urban community of Stapleton one of the most popular places to live in all of Colorado.

Count me in that crowd. Had a big yard in Dallas. Hated it because it took 2-3 hours to mow, trim, and edge the SOB. Lemme tell ya when it's already pushing 90 at 9am in July and the dew point's in the 70s working in the yard sucks ass. I'd come in the house after 30 minutes drenched in sweat. There were a handful of days where I asked my wife to check the yard occasionally to make sure I hadn't dropped dead.

My yard here is a breeze. I can do it all in about a 45 minutes to an hour without breaking a sweat.

[Thoreau424]

Whatever people want; that's what freedom is about. Some like to see lots of green and natural scenery from their porches and windows; others are okay with homes and other people in their view. It's maybe inevitable that the latter preference is increasing here. A trend towards a more Californian approach? I know there are a lot of investors from there who have moved to the area, and are highly active in real estate.

[tom17knight]

Hi..

Yes, you right huge houses always need lots of time and energy in cleaning and maintenance but most of the people like to live in big houses.Buying a huge house is also expensive.However, there are also lots of qualities about a huge house that might entice someone to take a closer look.Well, you don't need a big house then you can buy 1bhk house which is not too big nor too small.I think that is sufficient for your living. You can also find tiny houses in Boston.

[VulcanRabbi]

All the new homes here in OR the garage is often bigger then the living room!

[oldtrader]

There is only one reason they are building large homes and not smaller ones. The price of land, cost of developing a lot including bringing utilities to the lot, and cost of building supplies, they cannot build smaller and plainer homes, and bring them in at a price the public can afford.

The reason they are building these bigger homes on small lots for the size of the home is, the price of land and improvements means they have to build on smaller lots to come out with a profit. Put in 100 homes, means more profit than building only 50 homes on that parcel of ground.

And if one looks at 40 years ago, in Loveland, Colorado mentioned above, you could buy a nice new home for $18,000 to $25,000. Today it is fifteen to twenty times that amount.

I cannot go to Realtor dot com loveland homes for sale. Because they cannot read my location, and cannot attach tracers to my computer they block me and tell me that is the reason. I use epic privacy browser, which blocks them putting hidden spy trash on my computer, and hides my internet coded location, they block me going there, and they tell me this is the reason.

Before I installed Epic, I had ransom ware about daily, and huge number of adds for items I searched for. Now I have none of that. The thing to remember, web sites can get paid a small fee, for all those things you do not want on your computer. I have seen as many as 445 stopped (I get the number that have been blocked) from installing their little spy attachments in one hour. When I run cleaners for malware, etc., it goes real quick, and very few things to remove.

[LHS79]

Originally Posted by VulcanRabbi

All the new homes here in OR the garage is often bigger then the living room!

Are the garages similar to Colorado where people fill them up with crap and then park all of their cars on the street?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by oldtrader

...
And if one looks at 40 years ago, in Loveland, Colorado mentioned above, you could buy a nice new home for $18,000 to $25,000. Today it is fifteen to twenty times that amount.
...e.

maybe 60 yrs ago.

I sold a 'starter' home in Loveland 40 yrs ago for $175k (During 12 % interest rates), it recently resold for $354k

but,yep.. prices are up and pretty lofty at the moment. (Oct 2018)

Time will tell, but with retiree centric economy, prices will not plummet.

My first home I bought in Loveland (1970),(1bedroom <600sf) cost me $16k (built in 1926)

$128.84 house payment (@ $1.50/ hr wages + 15% (night shift premium).. Utilities were under $10/ month. But I was really STRAPPED with that much house! Had a big yard and the BEST rhubarb patch!

Even with big yards I cap my 'lawn care' to 1 hr / week. (except my TX place (10 acres) took me 3 hrs this week... since it has been raining there for a month. My PNW lawns grow 4-6" / week in May! Something I didn't have to worry about in Colorado!

BIG houses are a BONUS to the property tax and insurance grubs.
and the maint and building supply folks.. (More roof to replace after those CO hailstorms) More siding to paint, more carpeting to replace, ... and they are really environmentally wasteful (more to heat, more roof and concrete to reduce groundwater recharge. )

Someone should do a 50yr ecology study on FR Colorado (additional acres of 'impermeable' surfaces; i.e. roofs, roads, parking lots, cars, Schools ). But a LOT less acreage in Feedlots

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

maybe 60 yrs ago.

I sold a 'starter' home in Loveland 40 yrs ago for $175k (During 12 % interest rates), it recently resold for $354k

but,yep.. prices are up and pretty lofty at the moment. (Oct 2018)

That’s pretty terrible frankly. Straight inflation has the value of $175K of 1978 dollars as $677K in 2018 dollars. Big loss if you held that property for 40 years and it only appreciated $180K.