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To add to that, a house a hundred years ago was nothing like a house today: building codes, square footage per person, heating, plumbing, connectivity... Buildi

To add to that, a house a hundred years ago was nothing like a house today: building codes, square footage per person, heating, plumbing, connectivity... Building and maintaining a decent housing unit is far more expensive in material and energy than it was 60 years ago.

lotsofpulp 2y ago
To add to that, household size also decreased. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/10/01/the-number-of-people-in-the-average-u-s-household-is-going-up-for-the-first-time-in-over-160-years/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/10/01/the-numbe...
- charlie0 2y ago
  Yet, almost no one makes those sweet starter homes anymore.
  - lotsofpulp 2y ago
    Newer homes have been trending smaller and smaller for a long time. Especially in the western US. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/10/smaller-new-houses-afforable/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/10/smaller-n... > Median new-home sizes are at a 13-year low.
    - charlie0 2y ago
      I must not be looking at the right place then. All the new homes I've seen recently are 2000+ sq. ft. The only ones that are smaller are usually townhomes and are even less affordable than the bigger homes I just mentioned they are located near downtowns or other heavily populated areas.
      - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
        No you are still right. The article says the new smaller homes average 2179 square feet.
      - lotsofpulp 2y ago
        Here are some at not much more than 1k sq ft: https://www.mihomes.com/new-homes/texas/greater-san-antonio/southeast-san-antonio/willow-point/dewitt-plan https://www.mihomes.com/new-homes/texas/greater-san-antonio/... https://ginngrp.com/for-sale/parkhouse-vista/ https://ginngrp.com/for-sale/parkhouse-vista/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/812-24th-Avenue-S-Seattle-WA-98144/125231992_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/812-24th-Avenue-S-Seattle... > The only ones that are smaller are usually townhomes and are even less affordable than the bigger homes I just mentioned they are located near downtowns or other heavily populated areas. That will not change because the market of people looking to buy a 1k sq ft home on a quarter acre lot in a less populated area either cannot afford the construction costs or the set of buyers interested in that is too small to bet on for a developer.
- rootusrootus 2y ago
  This is the one I'm curious to see play out. How low can it go? Did it reach bottom? Maybe once it stabilizes at a new norm, housing supply will catch up and prices will settle down.

lotsofpulp 2y ago

To add to that, household size also decreased. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/10/01/the-number-of-people-in-the-average-u-s-household-is-going-up-for-the-first-time-in-over-160-years/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/10/01/the-numbe...

charlie0 2y ago
Yet, almost no one makes those sweet starter homes anymore.
- lotsofpulp 2y ago
  Newer homes have been trending smaller and smaller for a long time. Especially in the western US. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/10/smaller-new-houses-afforable/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/10/smaller-n... > Median new-home sizes are at a 13-year low.
  - charlie0 2y ago
    I must not be looking at the right place then. All the new homes I've seen recently are 2000+ sq. ft. The only ones that are smaller are usually townhomes and are even less affordable than the bigger homes I just mentioned they are located near downtowns or other heavily populated areas.
    - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
      No you are still right. The article says the new smaller homes average 2179 square feet.
    - lotsofpulp 2y ago
      Here are some at not much more than 1k sq ft: https://www.mihomes.com/new-homes/texas/greater-san-antonio/southeast-san-antonio/willow-point/dewitt-plan https://www.mihomes.com/new-homes/texas/greater-san-antonio/... https://ginngrp.com/for-sale/parkhouse-vista/ https://ginngrp.com/for-sale/parkhouse-vista/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/812-24th-Avenue-S-Seattle-WA-98144/125231992_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/812-24th-Avenue-S-Seattle... > The only ones that are smaller are usually townhomes and are even less affordable than the bigger homes I just mentioned they are located near downtowns or other heavily populated areas. That will not change because the market of people looking to buy a 1k sq ft home on a quarter acre lot in a less populated area either cannot afford the construction costs or the set of buyers interested in that is too small to bet on for a developer.
rootusrootus 2y ago
This is the one I'm curious to see play out. How low can it go? Did it reach bottom? Maybe once it stabilizes at a new norm, housing supply will catch up and prices will settle down.