7 ms·

How many of them are starter homes? Majority of the home constructions I came across is always above 3.5k sqft homes, some are McManison. It is great about 1.5

How many of them are starter homes? Majority of the home constructions I came across is always above 3.5k sqft homes, some are McManison. It is great about 1.5 million housing units, we need starter houses than 4k sqft homes.

x86_64Ubuntu 5y ago
At least in the upstate of SC, I see lots of starter homes, some would say too many. Of course, the average price in the state has risen above $300K and I don't know where people are getting this money from. The starter homes/condos seem to have a sqft of between 1200->2000 (best guess unresearched).
- sweettea 5y ago
  You and me both. Though, the older housing inventory often is 900-1200 sqft, which is a very suitable size for a starter home, but smaller than the modern homes...
kylehotchkiss 5y ago
Moving McRichPeople out of normal housing and into McMansions can open up housing availability downstream though. The homes they are moving out of are an upgrade for those in starter homes and then those starter homes become available.
- notch656a 5y ago
  Agreed, although it may be the case that many McRich are buying additional housing rather than trading one house for another.
  - mikem170 5y ago
    Or replacing small houses with bigger ones...
  - coding123 5y ago
    That is the case from what I have seen. We've put so much playdo money in the hands of young McRich who worked at a FAANG and there are so many of them. Also Chinese investors are buying up properties and locking them up for a few years to resell. We may get to a point where we have to actually change the law to fight homelessness and rising housing costs.
brimble 5y ago
Few new starter homes in my (non-trendy) city. However, once builders started working again around '12, they started putting up both McMansions and spectacularly ugly apartment buildings (partially fills the role of the starter home, I guess, in that at least it's a place to live, if not a stepping stone to financial stability, so should take pressure off the market) at a crazy-fast pace. Construction everywhere, constantly. Downtown? New several new or converted high-rise apartment buildings. Just off downtown? Tons of new ugly-ass mid-rise apartment buildings in that new style everyone's using. 'Burbs? New and developing McMansion-filled neighborhoods everywhere, and a ton more of those same ugly apartment buildings. Doesn't seem to have done much to keep housing prices under control, and houses still sell so fast that you blink and a new listing will be gone. We can't possibly be a major location for internal migration—not like cities in California or Texas or anything of that sort—so IDK what's up with that. My 20ish year old McMansion has increased in value about 30% over the last two years, and was already way up from just a few years earlier. WTF.
- lyaa 5y ago
  The ugly apartment buildings you are seeing are probably one-plus-five buildings (one concrete + five wood floors) that are actually optimized for balancing zoning+codes+affordability for single-family apartments. At least theoretically, they should offer cheaper rent due to their much lower construction costs. I think of the ugliness of the facades as a bonus that would drive wealthier people to other buildings once options open up a bit.
  - brimble 5y ago
    Yeah, it's those, I just couldn't recall the term for it. Much of the ugliness seems to be a choice, though—lots of weird, haphazard nooks and crannies and bump-outs, and bizarre color schemes that seem designed to dazzle you into not noticing how ugly the unevenly-bumpy exterior is. If they just flattened out the exterior walls a little and cooled it a bit with the crayon-box color scheme, they'd look much better.
    - letouj 5y ago
incahoots 5y ago
I'm in the upper midwest, from what I've seen when traveling in my state it's few and far between. New construction is all MDUs and custom homes in the 5k sqft range. Fed/State government can issues credits/tax relief for "investors" who build MDUs but somehow starter homes are off the table? It's not all doom and gloom, Habitat For Humanity appears to be the only outfit that's building affordable houses/starter homes, helps when you get a nice influx of money going into that program (thanks MacKenzie Scott).
Gigachad 5y ago
The people buying the McMansions likely move out of their existing home, freeing it up for people looking for a starter place

x86_64Ubuntu 5y ago

At least in the upstate of SC, I see lots of starter homes, some would say too many. Of course, the average price in the state has risen above $300K and I don't know where people are getting this money from. The starter homes/condos seem to have a sqft of between 1200->2000 (best guess unresearched).

sweettea 5y ago
You and me both. Though, the older housing inventory often is 900-1200 sqft, which is a very suitable size for a starter home, but smaller than the modern homes...

kylehotchkiss 5y ago

Moving McRichPeople out of normal housing and into McMansions can open up housing availability downstream though. The homes they are moving out of are an upgrade for those in starter homes and then those starter homes become available.

notch656a 5y ago
Agreed, although it may be the case that many McRich are buying additional housing rather than trading one house for another.
- mikem170 5y ago
  Or replacing small houses with bigger ones...
- coding123 5y ago
  That is the case from what I have seen. We've put so much playdo money in the hands of young McRich who worked at a FAANG and there are so many of them. Also Chinese investors are buying up properties and locking them up for a few years to resell. We may get to a point where we have to actually change the law to fight homelessness and rising housing costs.

brimble 5y ago

Few new starter homes in my (non-trendy) city. However, once builders started working again around '12, they started putting up both McMansions and spectacularly ugly apartment buildings (partially fills the role of the starter home, I guess, in that at least it's a place to live, if not a stepping stone to financial stability, so should take pressure off the market) at a crazy-fast pace. Construction everywhere, constantly. Downtown? New several new or converted high-rise apartment buildings. Just off downtown? Tons of new ugly-ass mid-rise apartment buildings in that new style everyone's using. 'Burbs? New and developing McMansion-filled neighborhoods everywhere, and a ton more of those same ugly apartment buildings. Doesn't seem to have done much to keep housing prices under control, and houses still sell so fast that you blink and a new listing will be gone. We can't possibly be a major location for internal migration—not like cities in California or Texas or anything of that sort—so IDK what's up with that. My 20ish year old McMansion has increased in value about 30% over the last two years, and was already way up from just a few years earlier. WTF.

lyaa 5y ago
The ugly apartment buildings you are seeing are probably one-plus-five buildings (one concrete + five wood floors) that are actually optimized for balancing zoning+codes+affordability for single-family apartments. At least theoretically, they should offer cheaper rent due to their much lower construction costs. I think of the ugliness of the facades as a bonus that would drive wealthier people to other buildings once options open up a bit.
- brimble 5y ago
  Yeah, it's those, I just couldn't recall the term for it. Much of the ugliness seems to be a choice, though—lots of weird, haphazard nooks and crannies and bump-outs, and bizarre color schemes that seem designed to dazzle you into not noticing how ugly the unevenly-bumpy exterior is. If they just flattened out the exterior walls a little and cooled it a bit with the crayon-box color scheme, they'd look much better.
  - letouj 5y ago

incahoots 5y ago

I'm in the upper midwest, from what I've seen when traveling in my state it's few and far between. New construction is all MDUs and custom homes in the 5k sqft range. Fed/State government can issues credits/tax relief for "investors" who build MDUs but somehow starter homes are off the table? It's not all doom and gloom, Habitat For Humanity appears to be the only outfit that's building affordable houses/starter homes, helps when you get a nice influx of money going into that program (thanks MacKenzie Scott).

Gigachad 5y ago

The people buying the McMansions likely move out of their existing home, freeing it up for people looking for a starter place