Will small homes be the next trend?

13 years ago

I just ran across a commentary on Yahoo Finance about the shriniking middle class. I'll post the link below. You would think that the current employment/income trend would spark a resurgence in truely smaller homes, not simply "downsizing" from 3,200sf to 2,800sf but much smaller "right sized" houses that people can actually pay off in full without inheritence or exceptional windfall. I know I'm preaching to the choir here but DUH, smaller power bills, lower taxes, lower insurance, fewer furnishings, actually seeing the family members living under the same roof as you without seeking out a different wing of the house, and on and on.

It seems like a no-brainer but at the same time, it seems like society is in mass denial thinking things will magically return to "normal". Like all we need is for "the market" to get it's confidence back or for the latest round of government interference to take hold or some other intangible realization to be reported and presto, WE'RE BA-ACK!

I for one would find hope and confidence in seeing the masses waking up and making real changes in their personal lives, moving in a more grounded and realistically sustainable direction. Anyway, here's the link....

Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: Shrinking class

Comments (2)

emagineer
13 years ago
Scott,
I would love to respond to this. But am one of the middle class that has reaped the havoc. This information makes it even more depressing and I already knew such.
flgargoyle
13 years ago
I don't have time to explore the link right now, but I'll respond to your question. In short- No I don't think there will be much of a trend to smaller homes. Maybe a little, but not what it should be. One of the problems is the sheer numbers of larger homes currently on the market. You can buy a nearly new McMansion cheaper than you can buy land and build a small, energy efficient house. It's kind of like when gas prices shot up, and small cars were suddenly the hot item, and you couldn't give an SUV away. The problem is is that houses have a much longer life than a car, so they'll be around a long while.

Building new is getting more and more expensive, due to much tougher building codes, zoning regulations, and even EPA requirements. Did you know that much of the country will soon require residential sprinkler systems in new homes? Or that there will soon be a relative humidity requirement in new construction? Add that to all the recent energy requirements, and new homes will go up quite a bit in cost. Meanwhile, there are plenty of perfectly usable used homes on the market- cheap.

I think most Americans still don't 'get it' when it comes to the global picture. New costruction is now pretty much limited to growth areas. Growth areas happen because there are decent paying jobs. People who have decent paying jobs, and can afford a new house are still going to want the most bang for the buck, so you won't see many small homes being built.

There are a handful of people who 'get it', and they will seek alternate paths, just as free thinkers always have. But the numbers of people like that have always been small, and most people will keep following 'bigger is better' until absolutely forced by cost or dint of law to do otherwise. To be continued......

Jay
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