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One of the problems is that the average size of a new single family home has been increasing for decades: http://eyeonhousing.org/2014/01/average-size-of-new-s

by Mz 9y ago

One of the problems is that the average size of a new single family home has been increasing for decades: http://eyeonhousing.org/2014/01/average-size-of-new-single-family-homes-continues-to-rise/ http://eyeonhousing.org/2014/01/average-size-of-new-single-f... According to data from the Census the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey, the average and median size of single-family homes that began construction rose during 2013. For the third quarter alone, the average single-family square footage increased from 2,646 to 2,701, while the median rose from 2,446 to 2,491. In the 1950s, average size of a new home was less than half that, at around 1200 sq ft. It also held, on average, more people. I strongly suspect this is partly driven by tax incentives that are aimed at upper class families and help create or fuel a growing divide between the Have and Have Nots.

pfranz 9y ago
I don't know if that's the case for the large cities in California. As far as I've seen in Los Angeles, it's not new construction. If it is, it's major renovations to old buildings (tearing down a 80yo bungalow that had been extended to 1br and building a modern 2br) and they're limited by the lot size. In LA there's new luxury condos being built, but I've been in half a dozen apartments in the 12 years I've lived here and the newest was built in the 80's. You can definitely see the living space increases since the 20's, but it hasn't ballooned to the size of new construction in most of the rest of the country. Looking at my peers in houses, it's fairly similar. They all moved far out of the city, but none of it is new construction.
- Mz 9y ago
  Funny, I have lived in several California cities over the years. I am routinely appalled at the not terribly old, ginormous houses that I walk past. This has been true every place I have lived. I am currently at the research stage for trying to buy a house. My magic 8 ball increasingly suggests "not in California -- please move elsewhere, since you have portable income."
  - pfranz 9y ago
    If that's the case, I'm pretty sure the rest of the country is the same. My experience is in LA and the little bit I've seen in SF. Both of those places are terrible unless you're quite rich. I am envious of people with a bedroom for each kid and a back yard, but I have heard anecdotes of people who move from a place perceived as high tax, like California, to a place perceived as low tax, like Texas, and their tax liability went up (because property taxes are much higher even though income taxes are lower).

by Mz 9y ago

pfranz 9y ago

I don't know if that's the case for the large cities in California. As far as I've seen in Los Angeles, it's not new construction. If it is, it's major renovations to old buildings (tearing down a 80yo bungalow that had been extended to 1br and building a modern 2br) and they're limited by the lot size. In LA there's new luxury condos being built, but I've been in half a dozen apartments in the 12 years I've lived here and the newest was built in the 80's. You can definitely see the living space increases since the 20's, but it hasn't ballooned to the size of new construction in most of the rest of the country. Looking at my peers in houses, it's fairly similar. They all moved far out of the city, but none of it is new construction.

Mz 9y ago
Funny, I have lived in several California cities over the years. I am routinely appalled at the not terribly old, ginormous houses that I walk past. This has been true every place I have lived. I am currently at the research stage for trying to buy a house. My magic 8 ball increasingly suggests "not in California -- please move elsewhere, since you have portable income."
- pfranz 9y ago
  If that's the case, I'm pretty sure the rest of the country is the same. My experience is in LA and the little bit I've seen in SF. Both of those places are terrible unless you're quite rich. I am envious of people with a bedroom for each kid and a back yard, but I have heard anecdotes of people who move from a place perceived as high tax, like California, to a place perceived as low tax, like Texas, and their tax liability went up (because property taxes are much higher even though income taxes are lower).