Will new construction homes ever be affordable again? (Boston, Cambridge: insurance, townhome)

[BostonMike7]

case in point

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

I do agree. New construction all looks the same but it's probably because the builders know it will sell and don't want to roll the dice on something a little less common which might have fewer buyers.

It's a little more involved than that, but not much.
The major companies - toll brothers, Holton, Pulte, etc - build from a very small catalog of designs. There is no money to be made designing more designs. There's no profit building 5000 unique homes vs. 5000 homes of 3 floor plans.

Small builders do the same - buy off the shelf plans and build as many as they can. They don't hire an Architect because the extra cost of a well designed house isn't a selling point.

It seems like 75% of all new builds in Worcester county are split levels on flat lots and a first floor 2 car garage. All the same plan...
The other 25% are split level duplexes on flat lots and first floor garages.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by scorpio516

It's a little more involved than that, but not much.
The major companies - toll brothers, Holton, Pulte, etc - build from a very small catalog of designs. There is no money to be made designing more designs. There's no profit building 5000 unique homes vs. 5000 homes of 3 floor plans.

Small builders do the same - buy off the shelf plans and build as many as they can. They don't hire an Architect because the extra cost of a well designed house isn't a selling point.

It seems like 75% of all new builds in Worcester county are split levels on flat lots and a first floor 2 car garage. All the same plan...
The other 25% are split level duplexes on flat lots and first floor garages.

That makes perfect sense.

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

A new construction in 1980 was $200k or less, or $722k in 2022 dollars. A new construction now costs 2-4 million. Will new constructions ever be affordable again?

Yes, it will be affordable for anyone who has the money.

[id77]

Originally Posted by msRB311

You're probably right. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next year. Tech companies have been doing layoffs for the past few months so there is that...there still doesn't seem to be a shortage of high paying tech/pharma/medical jobs in the area though.

It's not systemic. For every tech company that laid off some workers, there's another that paid out record bonuses to its engineers. The teams the players are playing for may shift around, but the money's still rolling in.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by id77

It's not systemic. For every tech company that laid off some workers, there's another that paid out record bonuses to its engineers. The teams the players are playing for may shift around, but the money's still rolling in.

The Fed is still working on that.

[msRB311]

Ok sure

[johngolf]

Typical new home within 20 miles of Columbia SC. A like mine but with a two car garage. No basements here.

https://www.mcguinnhomes.com/homes/l...o-farms-way-23

[brightdoglover]

^^^^
Wishing there was new construction like that in the Boston area.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

^^^^
Wishing there was new construction like that in the Boston area.

You would do Townhomes here if you were going to build something like that. And it's still be 600k+.