Packerjohn
Packerjohn
- Location
- Canada
Where I live (Central Canada) we have huge homes. We call them MacMansions or "Monster Homes."
Do you think homes are getting way too big?
- Thread starter Bretrick
- Start date
This house is 1,050 sf. I live in half of it; the other half has been closed off, although I have recently considered reopening it just to have someplace different to sit.
Never have lived in a large home. Every time I saw a McMansion for sale, I would think, "I sure wouldn't want to clean that place." And although I am not a Greta, I do try to do my share of using less to reduce my take from Mother Earth. I have, more and more, become a less-is-more person. Need versus want is my mantra these days.
Never have lived in a large home. Every time I saw a McMansion for sale, I would think, "I sure wouldn't want to clean that place." And although I am not a Greta, I do try to do my share of using less to reduce my take from Mother Earth. I have, more and more, become a less-is-more person. Need versus want is my mantra these days.
Trade
Well-known Member
Average size of a new house by decade.
US Homes Have Gotten Bigger Over the Years. A Lot Bigger
Average Size of US Homes, Decade by Decade
It's nearly tripled since 1950
24/7 Wall St has a list that shows how the typical American home has changed from 1920 to 2014. And that mainly means the homes have gotten way bigger. The list tracks various stats year by year, including average square feet. Here's a sample, with the figure referring to the average floor area of a new single-family home:
US Homes Have Gotten Bigger Over the Years. A Lot Bigger
Average Size of US Homes, Decade by Decade
It's nearly tripled since 1950
24/7 Wall St has a list that shows how the typical American home has changed from 1920 to 2014. And that mainly means the homes have gotten way bigger. The list tracks various stats year by year, including average square feet. Here's a sample, with the figure referring to the average floor area of a new single-family home:
- 1920: 1,048 square feet
- 1930: 1,129
- 1940: 1,177
- 1950: 983
- 1960: 1,289
- 1970: 1,500
- 1980: 1,740
- 1990: 2,080
- 2000: 2,266
- 2010: 2,392
- 2014: 2,657
MoBeans
Member
We took a walk the other day in the most exclusive gated community in our town. They do let people walk there but no cameras allowed. So I used my phone. Its all houses like this and they all have names. This one is called the Long House and belongs to the Mellon family. Their boat house is twice as large as my house. They spend no more than a few weeks a year there.
Wombat
Member
- Location
- The Illawarra
i don't think that is fair. That is what is available, look at the demand for one and two bedroomed homes and flats, they are just not available because they are not being built, those that are available are the same price as a much larger dwelling because of the demand.
Block sizes have shrunk from the standard quarter acre like mine (built 1920s) to about 450 sq metres so the house is now taking up most of the block, there is very little space for children to play, just about enough for a barbie area and a small pool.
What is absurd is that families are getting smaller, children have older parents there are more single people why the large houses? It is abit like Maccas and their upsizing for a dollar, the cost of building a big place is not much different to the cost of building a small place.
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Nathan
SF VIP
- Location
- High Desert- Calif.
I don't care what others spend, we have a 1500sq.ft. house that's quite suitable for our lives.
That Lady in PA
Senior Member
Same here.
People are free to spend their money however they see fit. If that means a house larger than mine, so what?
That Lady in PA
Senior Member
Many people drive expensive cars when many more struggle and rely on busses or beater cars.
Many people wear designer clothes while others rely on thrift stores.
Many people eat out a lot while others need help from their food bank.
Why single out housing? There will always be those who have more...
That Lady in PA
Senior Member
Morley (recently deceased) and Lady P (she is the Mellon you referred to) also have another vacation home... Weatherside in Antigua!
- 1950: 983
MACKTEXAS
Well-known Member
I have the paperwork on my parent's mortgage from 1962 on a frame 2 bedroom, 1 bath house. The sale price for the house was $8000. They paid $500 down. The interest rate was 4.84 %. With taxes and insurance included in the mortgage, their monthly payment was $64.54.
My grandmother had a similar small house in the 1960s. I do not have her mortgage papers, but I have a copy of her homeowner's insurance policy from 1965. It shows she was billed a total of $95 for 5 years of coverage. It was one page long and very straightforward regarding covered losses and settlement.
My current insurance policy is anything but straightforward. The declarations pages alone total 12, and the policy is an additional 37 pages. There is more language describing the insurer's rights than the rights of the insured.
My grandmother had a similar small house in the 1960s. I do not have her mortgage papers, but I have a copy of her homeowner's insurance policy from 1965. It shows she was billed a total of $95 for 5 years of coverage. It was one page long and very straightforward regarding covered losses and settlement.
My current insurance policy is anything but straightforward. The declarations pages alone total 12, and the policy is an additional 37 pages. There is more language describing the insurer's rights than the rights of the insured.
officerripley
Well-known Member
- Location
- Porlock, Calif
Our house is bigger than I think we need and the lot it's on (1 acre) is definitely bigger than we need. But Huzz doesn't agree--he grew up having to sometimes live in a car (in 100 degrees) so this house means everything to him. So here we stay.
MoBeans
Member
Lady P was one of four children Richard King Mellon adopted. Talk about hitting the life lottery. People I know around here called Morley Milbury. A friend spent a winter in the Long House as a live in caretaker and we got to go tour it. It's even bigger inside than outside.
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My house is around 2800 feet if you include the finished walk-in basement. It's too big for my liking. The only reason my husband got it was because he got it for $57 a square yard back in 2002. The contractor ran out of money, so he just charged him what he had put into it, and my husband finished it. It was probably a good thing since a lot of the house has heirlooms from his deceased parents' house.
I
I don’t dispute your point, but I believe the recent shifts in wealth distribution have significantly tilted the balance toward the affluent. When we were growing up, being a millionaire signified extraordinary wealth. Today, that benchmark has been eclipsed by the rise of billionaires. While I recognize the role inflation plays in reshaping monetary value, this feels like a deeper structural transformation—something beyond mere economics.
That Lady in PA
Senior Member
I very much agree.
And did you see the news where a man was robbed of his watch... that was worth $600,000?!?!?
Insane!
Yes, it's out of control.
officerripley
Well-known Member
- Location
- Porlock, Calif
I would love to do something like that so much but even if we could afford it, my huzz would never in a million years.
jujube
SF VIP
No kidding! I play HGTV bingo in my mind: "That bathroom isn't giving me the spa experience I wanted". "But I wanted at least a 12-foot island in the kitchen!" "The kids would have to share the bathroom with any guests." "This isn't the 'grand entrance' I was hoping for." "I don't know how we can get by with less than six bedrooms....I need a glamour room and my husband needs a room for his collection of athletic shoes". "But it's only a two-car garage!"
I look back on my growing-up days when seven women and one poor man lived in a house with one-count'em-one bathroom and four bedrooms. We survived. Nobody had their psyches deeply damaged.