Faced with high mortgage rates, cost-constrained Americans are embracing smaller homes
What the fuck? It’s called a starter home. How is the existence of sane-sized singe-family or mutli-family homes supposed to be a bad thing?
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Bad thing? It’s not a bad thing. It’s an unobtainable thing for many.
This is true, I was criticising the weird tone of the article for implying it was some great burden to only have one or two large dedicated living spaces and 100sqft bedrooms rather than three and 200. It would be a whole lot less unnatainable if 2 bedroom/1 shower, 800sqft units in a multiplex or 5-over-one were the default rather than half the size of what this article is trying to present as some bizarre abberation.
I will say, as someone in a house with just one shower, when you have a teenage daughter, things can get accidentally awkward. I wouldn’t complain if we had a second. But overall I’m fine with smaller houses. We rented a two story house when we first moved to this town and we had a room we literally had nothing to put in. We just left it empty. No one needs a big house unless they have a big family.
I live in Brazil. One of the classic questions we have to answer when the government is doing a census is how many bathrooms our home has. Along with other data it is one of the best indicators of how you’re doing financially. Nobody wants to have only one bathroom but nobody is building a second bathroom if they can’t afford to either. Number of phones and cars and that stuff can’t be trusted because people often buy those without being able to afford it.
Everything else in the house can be expanded with just some extra wood and room, but bathrooms don’t lie.
Privacy locks exist and plenty of people manage.
I mean ensuites are nice, but they are a luxury. Especially for a first home of a single person or a new couple.
You clearly don’t have a teenager if you think they always remember to do things like lock the bathroom door.
I live in a multi family dwelling with 6 people including 3 teenagers with one bathroom and there’s never been an issue.
Well then you obviously have superior teenagers to mine. How lucky for you.
Why you’re suggesting that my awkward situations haven’t been awkward I don’t know. Maybe you know me better than I do?
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Archive link: https://archive.ph/RatAC
The average American house is still pretty giant, it’s good to see that the size is coming down.
It’s good that people live in smaller houses now? What the fuck do you have against working class families?
If corporations and conservatives have their way, the working class will just live in tents in front of their factory jobs.
It is good that the houses are becoming less gigantic now, and I have nothing against working-class families.
From the article:
In December, Brad and Julie Redman downsized from their more-than 7,000 square-foot custom-built home to a 3,400 square-foot semi-custom model in Westfield, Ind., after their children left home.
Since 2018, the average unit size for new housing starts has decreased 10% nationally to 2,420 square feet
Sonia Mendez, a real-estate agent in the area, said she has seen builders increase construction of 1,500 to 1,700 square-foot townhomes.
They stole the American dream from us.
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It’s wild. Granted I don’t want kids, but I can’t imagine wanting more than a 2 bed/2 bath. Main bedroom, guest bedroom/office, and a finished basement assuming that’s feasible where I end up. Don’t want to deal with cleaning more than that.
Yep lawns have shrunk and houses have gotten bigger
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/lawns-census-bigger-homes-smaller-lots/489590/
Nah, you can still dream of owning a home. /s
“embracing”
Paywalled, but american homes are too damn big. Why can’t I find an 800sq foot house? I don’t need that much space.
not where im at its not.
