5 ms·

30 year olds are buying larger houses because typically those are the only options. It comes down to NIMBY local regulation enacted by the boomers with their F

30 year olds are buying larger houses because typically those are the only options. It comes down to NIMBY local regulation enacted by the boomers with their FU I got mine attitude. Municipalities enforce size restrictions, ie you can't build too small, in order to ensure there isn't housing poor folk can afford. They enact parcel size restrictions which means a piece of land that could have 20 homes on it can only fit 5. They enact stricter and stricter building codes that the only way to make a profit for a builder is to build big and cram in features so the real estate agents can beat you over the head with them so you feel as though you'd be an idiot not to buy this massive house with things you don't need.

harryh 10y ago
Houses getting bigger due to regulatory changes (as opposed to buyer preference) is a perspective I had not considered. Interesting! Thanks!
- mulmen 10y ago
  Say's law was the most counterintuitive concept I was exposed to in undergrad econ classes. After consideration it does make sense but runs counter to an entrepreneurial view of the world where products are created to serve a need.
  - empthought 10y ago
    It's counterintuitive because it is not true.
RUG3Y 10y ago
My uncle lives in an area where a new house must be on a minimum sized lot of 1 acre. A nearby area requires 5 acres for a new house! I'd never heard of those kinds of restrictions before.
- mulmen 10y ago
  I live in Seattle and while I am aware that not everyone lives in a similar environment the concept of a minimum 5 acre lot staggers me. I consider myself lucky to have 600 square feet. What kind of area has these rules and who sets them? To me a lot with 5 acres is officially "the country" where I would expect very little to zero regulation of what you can build.
  - RUG3Y 10y ago
    He's in Western Washington, but not too close to Seattle. To him it's "in the country" but it's right next to town. I live in a rural place, "in the country" means something entirely different to me.
    - seanp2k2 10y ago
      My definition of "country" is having a yard big enough to throw a tennis ball for your dog as hard as you can, as far as you can, within your property, and not have it hit something. Just any linear stretch of maybe 150'. People in cities very rarely have that, unless it's some kind of billionaire hilltop mansion type situation. Many people can't even own a pet because their apartment disallows it. Same thing would apply to shooting a gun on your property. If you can do it without the cops coming, you live in "the country" as far as I'm concerned.
  - gwright 10y ago
    For example, here is a zoning map for New Canaan, Connecticut a suburb of New York in south western Connecticut. About a 25% of the town is zoned for 4 acre lots, 50% for two acre lots, and 25% for smaller lots (just my estimates from looking at the map). http://www.newcanaan.info/filestorage/9490/293/331/02zoningmap.pdf http://www.newcanaan.info/filestorage/9490/293/331/02zoningm...
- rootusrootus 10y ago
  We have that here in Portland, it's the urban growth boundry. To control the growth of sprawling suburbs and encourage higher density construction, outside the boundary you cannot get sewer service and so must build on a 1+ acre lot with a septic field. It works pretty well for us. I'm sitting less than 100 feet from our boundary right now (on the inside), and just the other side is acres and acres of open farmland.

harryh 10y ago

Houses getting bigger due to regulatory changes (as opposed to buyer preference) is a perspective I had not considered. Interesting! Thanks!

mulmen 10y ago
Say's law was the most counterintuitive concept I was exposed to in undergrad econ classes. After consideration it does make sense but runs counter to an entrepreneurial view of the world where products are created to serve a need.
- empthought 10y ago
  It's counterintuitive because it is not true.

RUG3Y 10y ago

My uncle lives in an area where a new house must be on a minimum sized lot of 1 acre. A nearby area requires 5 acres for a new house! I'd never heard of those kinds of restrictions before.

mulmen 10y ago
I live in Seattle and while I am aware that not everyone lives in a similar environment the concept of a minimum 5 acre lot staggers me. I consider myself lucky to have 600 square feet. What kind of area has these rules and who sets them? To me a lot with 5 acres is officially "the country" where I would expect very little to zero regulation of what you can build.
- RUG3Y 10y ago
  He's in Western Washington, but not too close to Seattle. To him it's "in the country" but it's right next to town. I live in a rural place, "in the country" means something entirely different to me.
  - seanp2k2 10y ago
    My definition of "country" is having a yard big enough to throw a tennis ball for your dog as hard as you can, as far as you can, within your property, and not have it hit something. Just any linear stretch of maybe 150'. People in cities very rarely have that, unless it's some kind of billionaire hilltop mansion type situation. Many people can't even own a pet because their apartment disallows it. Same thing would apply to shooting a gun on your property. If you can do it without the cops coming, you live in "the country" as far as I'm concerned.
- gwright 10y ago
  For example, here is a zoning map for New Canaan, Connecticut a suburb of New York in south western Connecticut. About a 25% of the town is zoned for 4 acre lots, 50% for two acre lots, and 25% for smaller lots (just my estimates from looking at the map). http://www.newcanaan.info/filestorage/9490/293/331/02zoningmap.pdf http://www.newcanaan.info/filestorage/9490/293/331/02zoningm...
rootusrootus 10y ago
We have that here in Portland, it's the urban growth boundry. To control the growth of sprawling suburbs and encourage higher density construction, outside the boundary you cannot get sewer service and so must build on a 1+ acre lot with a septic field. It works pretty well for us. I'm sitting less than 100 feet from our boundary right now (on the inside), and just the other side is acres and acres of open farmland.