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Houses got bigger because they're not allowed to be small. Most cities have minimum lot sizes. Even Houston, the libertarian poster child, has a minimum lot siz
by scythe 4y ago
Houses got bigger because they're not allowed to be small. Most cities have minimum lot sizes. Even Houston, the libertarian poster child, has a minimum lot size of, IIRC, 5000 square feet.
People move to expensive cities because that's where the jobs are. Nobody moves to Fort Bragg, even though it has practically the same climate and coastline as San Francisco, because there's no money to be made.
Handwaving these economic forces away as "quality increases" is misleading.
- sidewndr46 4y agoNot only are there minimum lot sizes, there are minimum square footage mandates in effect for much of America. Also as a home builder once you realize how expensive the permitting process can be you're suddenly motivated to build big. The permitting doesn't scale with structure size, it is fixed in most areas.