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Still, I wonder how much square footage of housing was built; not just units. I'm under the impression that the average house built in the 10's era is larger th
by hotpotamus 3y ago
Still, I wonder how much square footage of housing was built; not just units. I'm under the impression that the average house built in the 10's era is larger than one built half a century before which could mean that more housing is being built (by area or volume) and yet fewer units are available. I guess I'm one of those anti-consumerist, people-should-live-in-modest-housing malcontents, but I grew up in a family of four in a small house, and we got by no problem.
- lotsofpulp 3y agoYes, the housing construction metrics are not exactly comparable over time because constructing the tiny 1k sq ft or less houses on postage stamp lots probably became illegal in most of the US many years ago.
- mandelbrotwurst 3y agoYou're correct about the square footage, but it would be incorrect to assume that because we were able to build X million units of size Y that we could have built 2X million units of size Y/2. It is cheaper per square foot to build a larger house and many people like to live in big houses, so new construction has grown in footprint. Many people value efficiency only when doing so is necessary for them to afford energy and maintenance costs.