3 ms·

The Great Compression Thanks to soaring prices, 400-square-foot house is upon us

11 points by rawgabbit 3y ago

rawgabbit 3y ago
Mr. Rodriguez recently moved into a new community outside San Antonio called Elm Trails, which was developed by Lennar Corporation, one of the country’s largest homebuilders. His house sits in a line of mini dwellings, the smallest of which is just 350 square feet. On a recent evening after work, neighbors were walking dogs and chatting along a row of beige, gray and olive-green two-story homes of the same shape. The development has a pond where residents picnic and catch bass and catfish. The houses do not have garages, and their driveways are wide enough for one vehicle or two motorcycles — proportions that pushed the sale prices to well under $200,000. “I wanted to own, and this was the cheapest I could get,” said Mr. Rodriguez, who moved in this month and works at a poultry processing plant in nearby Seguin, Texas. He paid $145,000 and hopes the house can be a step toward wealth building. Maybe in a few years he will move and rent it out, Mr. Rodriguez said.
- fragmede 3y ago
  > Maybe in a few years he will move and rent it out, Mr. Rodriguez said. that's quite the American dream.
wmf 3y ago
This is good. Many of the "you used to be able to afford a house" narratives get tripped up by the fact that small houses are no longer built. The obvious solution is to build housing of all different sizes. Unfortunately I doubt many of these will be built since it seems like 99% of the US is opposed to it.
- clipsy 3y ago
  Houses have certainly gotten bigger since the heyday of the "American Dream," but I'm middle aged and even my (blue collar, working class) grandparents were able to afford more than 400sqft; my (also blue collar, working class) parents were able to afford a 2000sqft house in an inner-ring suburb. I'm all for putting an end to the era of massive suburban McMansions, but forcing tiny houses on everyone in the delusion that that's how previous generations lived is not the solution.
pinewurst 3y ago
https://archive.ph/STPQb https://archive.ph/STPQb
ZeroGravitas 3y ago
I thought trailer parks were already part of the US housing for decades? This seems more like a step up than a step down.
- wmf 3y ago
  AFAIK trailer parks are being pushed out by zoning and they're less affordable than they should be because you can't get a mortgage on a trailer.
Terretta 3y ago
This seems like a sad re-implementation of rowhouses. https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/what-is-a-row-house/ https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/what-is-a-row-house/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraced_house https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraced_house https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfreth%27s_Alley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfreth%27s_Alley
fragmede 3y ago
The Spirit Airlines of housing. it's hard to know what to think. on the one hand, 400 sq ft is tiny, on the other hand, a tent is much smaller and way worse. But I'm sure we can manufacture better homes and get the advantages of factories/mass production building housing a different way. so this seems like a local maxima for a very specific set of conditions that aren't likely to apply anywhere else in the world.

11 points by rawgabbit 3y ago

Mr. Rodriguez recently moved into a new community outside San Antonio called Elm Trails, which was developed by Lennar Corporation, one of the country’s largest homebuilders. His house sits in a line of mini dwellings, the smallest of which is just 350 square feet. On a recent evening after work, neighbors were walking dogs and chatting along a row of beige, gray and olive-green two-story homes of the same shape. The development has a pond where residents picnic and catch bass and catfish. The houses do not have garages, and their driveways are wide enough for one vehicle or two motorcycles — proportions that pushed the sale prices to well under $200,000. “I wanted to own, and this was the cheapest I could get,” said Mr. Rodriguez, who moved in this month and works at a poultry processing plant in nearby Seguin, Texas. He paid $145,000 and hopes the house can be a step toward wealth building. Maybe in a few years he will move and rent it out, Mr. Rodriguez said.

fragmede 3y ago
> Maybe in a few years he will move and rent it out, Mr. Rodriguez said. that's quite the American dream.

wmf 3y ago

This is good. Many of the "you used to be able to afford a house" narratives get tripped up by the fact that small houses are no longer built. The obvious solution is to build housing of all different sizes. Unfortunately I doubt many of these will be built since it seems like 99% of the US is opposed to it.

clipsy 3y ago
Houses have certainly gotten bigger since the heyday of the "American Dream," but I'm middle aged and even my (blue collar, working class) grandparents were able to afford more than 400sqft; my (also blue collar, working class) parents were able to afford a 2000sqft house in an inner-ring suburb. I'm all for putting an end to the era of massive suburban McMansions, but forcing tiny houses on everyone in the delusion that that's how previous generations lived is not the solution.

pinewurst 3y ago

https://archive.ph/STPQb https://archive.ph/STPQb

ZeroGravitas 3y ago

I thought trailer parks were already part of the US housing for decades? This seems more like a step up than a step down.

wmf 3y ago
AFAIK trailer parks are being pushed out by zoning and they're less affordable than they should be because you can't get a mortgage on a trailer.

Terretta 3y ago

This seems like a sad re-implementation of rowhouses. https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/what-is-a-row-house/ https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/what-is-a-row-house/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraced_house https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraced_house https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfreth%27s_Alley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfreth%27s_Alley

fragmede 3y ago

The Spirit Airlines of housing. it's hard to know what to think. on the one hand, 400 sq ft is tiny, on the other hand, a tent is much smaller and way worse. But I'm sure we can manufacture better homes and get the advantages of factories/mass production building housing a different way. so this seems like a local maxima for a very specific set of conditions that aren't likely to apply anywhere else in the world.