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I'd really like to know where all these AHJs (outside of PUDs/HOAs, and even the first is questionable) requiring a minimum square footage are.
The driving factor is land and prep cost. Most developer/builders look for a minimum return of 2 1/2 times of those costs. Take a $50K building lot, add another $40K in infrastructure fees, site plan development and site prep and you get $90K before you lay one block for the foundation.
That gives a house price starting at $225K. Now, the reality is that many people, influenced by whatever, don't want a basic house they want a "statement".
A note: the numbers I used are likely low, where I am a 50X100 building lot off the water is $80K, although it likely already has water/sewer connections. If it doesn't the W/S connection/tap cost is around $25K.
Nobody builds 1000sq ft houses because (generally) the land is too expensive, builders make more money with larger houses and there is higher demand for larger houses.
I Understand all these factors-and it makes sense.....I am still curious though why builders were still building 950 sq feet homes into the early 1970s? (at least in North Texas)
What has changed in the last 50+ years that has made building smaller houses non viable?
Was the land generally cheaper back then?
Surely builders have always cared about making as much money as possible....so....why were they willing to build smaller houses that sold for les $$ 50+ years ago?
I assume their as a higher demand for larger homes today?? Wonder why??
That gives a house price starting at $225K. Now, the reality is that many people, influenced by whatever, don't want a basic house they want a "statement".
Good point.
So basically what your are saying is that back in the day....folks cared less about making a "statement" and were simply happy to have a basic house???
If so....this speaks volumes about our values today (in 2023) vs 50+ years ago-when small houses were still regularly being built....
So basically what your are saying is that back in the day....folks cared less about making a "statement" and were simply happy to have a basic house???
If so....this speaks volumes about our values today (in 2023) vs 50+ years ago-when small houses were still regularly being built....
Those houses built in the late 30s with around 1000 sq. ft. were generally under an FHA program that actually limited houses to a certain maximum size, max. no. of bathrooms, etc., to ensure the houses being supported were affordable. Keep in mind it was the 6th-10th year of the Depression; no one had any money. So they were trying to get SOMETHING moving in housing. These houses were the first ones purchased under the GI Bill when servicemen started returning in '45.
And yes, there were builders in Dallas, at least, but probably in any number of other cities, who were still building subdivisions of small houses (often zero-lot-line) into the 70s and 80s. The two energy crises and the lingering economic malaise of the 70s and early 80s made economical housing - economical to purchase and economical to operate - more fashionable. Since then, of course, bigger-is-better and luxury-to-impress-people-at-all-costs have taken over. I dread seeing what happens if economic conditions of the 30s, or even of the 70s, return - those who've never known any sort of scarcity are likely to have real problems adapting - and I'm one of them, to tell the truth.
Those houses built in the late 30s with around 1000 sq. ft. were generally under an FHA program that actually limited houses to a certain maximum size, max. no. of bathrooms, etc., to ensure the houses being supported were affordable. Keep in mind it was the 6th-10th year of the Depression; no one had any money. So they were trying to get SOMETHING moving in housing. These houses were the first ones purchased under the GI Bill when servicemen started returning in '45.
And yes, there were builders in Dallas, at least, but probably in any number of other cities, who were still building subdivisions of small houses (often zero-lot-line) into the 70s and 80s. The two energy crises and the lingering economic malaise of the 70s and early 80s made economical housing - economical to purchase and economical to operate - more fashionable. Since then, of course, bigger-is-better and luxury-to-impress-people-at-all-costs have taken over. I dread seeing what happens if economic conditions of the 30s, or even of the 70s, return - those who've never known any sort of scarcity are likely to have real problems adapting - and I'm one of them, to tell the truth.
Great analysis!!
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Wonder why??
