5 ms·

While this is awful on an individual level for many of the partys involved, the fact that that flimsy wooden box would sell for 1.4 million is the crime affecti

by K0balt 3y ago

While this is awful on an individual level for many of the partys involved, the fact that that flimsy wooden box would sell for 1.4 million is the crime affecting the entire population. I have built many houses in my life. There is obscene money involved in the overpricing of homes. Even with contemporary costs, you can build for $150 a square foot. That house cost max 350k to build, unless the builders are morons. The housing industry has become like the wedding industry. We need to remember that the people on the other side of the table are human beings. We can prosper without taking an extra year of a family’s salary just because we can. Greed is a poverty and we are all poorer for it.

dcchambers 3y ago
You're not wrong about housing prices and greed, but also your math doesn't add up. 4000 sqft * $150/sqft is 600K, not 350K. Still overpriced by quite a bit even with the cost of the land ($350K) and high end finishes though.
- Gibbon1 3y ago
  If we were sane zoning would require a minimum units per acre. Which means you can't build single family houses that size.
  - gwbrooks 3y ago
    If we were sane we wouldn't artificially limit or goose supply via zoning.
    - Brotkrumen 3y ago
      "Some eggs make give you salmonella, therefore eggs shouldn't exist" I'm sure you don't mean your absolute statement, otherwise I need your address to build my coal powerplant next to.
MechanicalTim 3y ago
Have you actually priced out a custom home in the last 18 months? Tract homes in subdivisions are maybe 150-200 a foot but a 4/4 4000 sq. foot custom build is not being built for anywhere near $150 a foot. Plus there was likely a large amount of site work to be done as well.
- K0balt 3y ago
  I’m speaking as a (non commercial) builder, not a buyer. I don’t doubt that contractors are charging more than 150 a foot. But I know what materials cost and I know how many man hours it takes to build. Some areas are having real struggles with finding construction workers though. We can thank the devaluation of trades training in schools and the ridiculous notion that college is for everyone for that mess. Being a skilled tradesperson is a great career option for a lot of people, often the same people that end up stuck in retail or some other hellish profession after going to college and maybe even graduating. Their lives would be probably much better in trades, they would earn 4x as much, probably be in better shape, and have a much higher level of personal autonomy. Unfortunately, someone somewhere along the road convinced them that blue collar work was below them. It’s one of the principles I used when I was raising children: a trade is something you can do anywhere that everyone needs. You own your own tools, you can show up anywhere and provide an essential service irrespective of the economic conditions autonomously and on your own terms. Professions tend to be much more dependent on complex societal structures and institutions, tend to be more geographically restricted, and tend to be more restrictive to personal choices. Some vocations can straddle both categories. With my children, I made sure each of them had the fundamentals of at least one trade that they found interesting by the time they were 16. It has served them well even though they have all ended up pursuing more entrepreneurial and technology or media related fields.
  - tmoneyplease 3y ago
    Refreshing perspective
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

by K0balt 3y ago

dcchambers 3y ago

You're not wrong about housing prices and greed, but also your math doesn't add up. 4000 sqft * $150/sqft is 600K, not 350K. Still overpriced by quite a bit even with the cost of the land ($350K) and high end finishes though.

Gibbon1 3y ago
If we were sane zoning would require a minimum units per acre. Which means you can't build single family houses that size.
- gwbrooks 3y ago
  If we were sane we wouldn't artificially limit or goose supply via zoning.
  - Brotkrumen 3y ago
    "Some eggs make give you salmonella, therefore eggs shouldn't exist" I'm sure you don't mean your absolute statement, otherwise I need your address to build my coal powerplant next to.

MechanicalTim 3y ago

Have you actually priced out a custom home in the last 18 months? Tract homes in subdivisions are maybe 150-200 a foot but a 4/4 4000 sq. foot custom build is not being built for anywhere near $150 a foot. Plus there was likely a large amount of site work to be done as well.

K0balt 3y ago
I’m speaking as a (non commercial) builder, not a buyer. I don’t doubt that contractors are charging more than 150 a foot. But I know what materials cost and I know how many man hours it takes to build. Some areas are having real struggles with finding construction workers though. We can thank the devaluation of trades training in schools and the ridiculous notion that college is for everyone for that mess. Being a skilled tradesperson is a great career option for a lot of people, often the same people that end up stuck in retail or some other hellish profession after going to college and maybe even graduating. Their lives would be probably much better in trades, they would earn 4x as much, probably be in better shape, and have a much higher level of personal autonomy. Unfortunately, someone somewhere along the road convinced them that blue collar work was below them. It’s one of the principles I used when I was raising children: a trade is something you can do anywhere that everyone needs. You own your own tools, you can show up anywhere and provide an essential service irrespective of the economic conditions autonomously and on your own terms. Professions tend to be much more dependent on complex societal structures and institutions, tend to be more geographically restricted, and tend to be more restrictive to personal choices. Some vocations can straddle both categories. With my children, I made sure each of them had the fundamentals of at least one trade that they found interesting by the time they were 16. It has served them well even though they have all ended up pursuing more entrepreneurial and technology or media related fields.
- tmoneyplease 3y ago
  Refreshing perspective

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]