Size of houses now vs. then

[bradykp]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

I'm with you. I think those big houses on a tiny plot of property look out of proportion. (And I live in a condo, lol.)

it's so odd. they don't even look right.

[Calico696]

Originally Posted by bradykp

it's so odd. they don't even look right.

Even worse is when they are practically right on top of the neighbors and there are no trees.....yuck!

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by Calico696

Even worse is when they are practically right on top of the neighbors and there are no trees.....yuck!

That's something I don't understand. I grew up in a house that my parents had built on a wooded lot of about half an acre. They took out some trees, of course, but left many standing, as they used to do when they built houses. There are beautiful oak and maple and other trees on the property. In summer, my mother doesn't use much air conditioning because the house is shaded.

The property across the street from where I grew up was woods. When the owners sold it and they put in 14 new houses, they cut down ALL the trees. I've noticed they do that everywhere now where houses are built where woods stood. Why on earth would someone want a big yard with no trees?????? Yeah, yeah, leaves in autumn, but that's a small thing to deal with for beauty vs. ugliness.

[Ann77]

Originally Posted by deere110

Just because you want a home on a large lot and are not intending to farm it doesn't mean you're "obsessed with land." I'll agree with you that the McMansions sitting on 5 acres of nothing but grass are absurd, but what about 30 acres of trees?

-No neighbors
-Tax break for woodland assessment (essentially the state give you a tax incentive not to clear cut the land)
-Plentiful firewood
-Exclusive hunting rights

Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Yeah, that's true. If I didn't have to pay taxes on it.

I was talking more about having more grass to deal with.

[bradykp]

Originally Posted by Ann77

Yeah, that's true. If I didn't have to pay taxes on it.

I was talking more about having more grass to deal with.

i enjoy cutting grass far more than cleaning a house. haha. at a certain point, you're just getting a riding mower anyways.

[rscalzo]

lot of older houses that pale in comparison to today's houses

All the housing developments built in my town were in the 1400 sf range each looking exactly the same. Master BR's were smaller and the idea of a Great or Family Room was a finished basement. Today a GR and Living Room is the norm. But the day of the huge homes is gone and the trend is going back to a more modest size.

I would think financing has a lot to do with it. The creative mortgages and ARM's are all but gone. Maybe new buyers will now buy according to their means.

[JERSEY MAN]

I like a home between between 2500 and 3000 sq. ft. on at least 75 by 100 lot. The reason, when I fart the neighbors and other family members don't hear or smell it.

[tbreiss]

I currently have a 3BR/2.1BA 2000 sq ft house in Naperville, IL that was built in 1982. We bought it in 1999 for $260K. My two girls share a room and want to continue to do so. We just finished redoing the entire first floor. So now I have a barely midsized home with recent McMansions amenities. And of course now we have to move to the bridgewater area in NJ.

The thing is is that though we could afford to buy this house from ourselves, (or any other house in the $400K) we wouldn't be able to do the updating again. I don't want a bigger house, as it is we have two rooms that go completely unused. But man, I can't take the thought of going back to living in 1982 again.

I'm not sure that people necessarily think they need 3000+ sqft, but I think that that was all that was being built for the past decade or so. So people faced with the choice between a 1970s high ranch (grew up in one on long island) that hasn't been updated or a 3000 sqft brand new house, they went with the latter even though it was more house than they needed or could afford.

Heck, in 1999 our realtor tried to convince us we'd be fine with a $450K loan. Um no. Not on what we were making then. But it was hard buying a house with a 3/4 master bath that we barely had room to turn around in. (We have since knocked out a wall and made it a decent size with a soaking tub and a granite counter and floor, but no separate shower or dual sinks.)

So while I drool over those $900K+ homes, it's not the size, it's the well designed kitchens and the big windows, and the lack of linoleum, shag carpeting, and cultured marble.

The kitchen we just finished isn't very big, but it is pretty and very functional. I have big pot drawers, a corner lazy Susan cabinet, the cabs over the fridge go up to the ceiling and all the way out to the edge of the fridge! The stock pot and the turkey roasting pan and other bulky a rely used items live happily up there, blocked from view, yet easily accessible.

I'd love to find a spot to build this house:
Hudson House Plan - 2552

It's just under 2000 sqft. if you finish the bonus room. It doesn't have a formal living room or dining room- don't want either. It has a 3/4 bath and extra bedroom on the first floor - perfect for visiting grandparents that don't handle stairs well. It does have a 3 car garage o we would have space for the cars and a storage/workshop area. The bonus room would be our home office and the girls would continue to share the other upstairs bedroom.

But while these plans exist, you don't find many recently built homes under 2000 sqft like this in the wild.

I guess we'll rent for a while and hope that some new developments spring up where the builders realize that new and nice doesn't have to mean huge.

[AnesthesiaMD]

Originally Posted by bradykp

i enjoy cutting grass far more than cleaning a house. haha. at a certain point, you're just getting a riding mower anyways.

I agree. I love riding around on my mower. It is the most relaxing time of my week.