I moved to my first house in Sept of last year and I love it! It's kind of a box-with-a-door type of house. But it has everything i need, and nothing i don't. I'd like to see a trend towards more of these types of homes., to make homes more affordable. I think we are often pressured into buying "bigger and better" things that we don't really need, but end up paying dearly for (with our work hours).
There is a community on the N end of town that was built w/ homes of this size & then there is also small restaurant & hair salon, a little playground in the center of the neighborhood for the kids... And the kitchens even have beautiful laminate counters w/ white appliances!!
I haven't been up there since the builders did a tour of homes last spring to see how many have really sold, but I'd like to see it take off..
I am real curious to see how the changes in housing will be affected by the rise in energy prices and the difficulty in obtaining morgages for some.
I am real curious to see how the changes in housing will be affected by the rise in energy prices and the difficulty in obtaining morgages for some.[/QUOTE]
I really hope to see more affordable housing become readily available and more "popular" . I just think it's strange that we spend so much time working for our homes (and things) that we don't have enough time or energy to even enjoy them! I subscribe to Cottage Living, and was really interested in the Katrina Cottage communities that were created in Louisiana and Mississippi. The cottages are "kit" houses with smaller square footage.
I think back to one of my first houses. The subdivision was built after WW2 and most were ranchers or split levels,3BR-1 bath homes. They had pretty much whatever you needed. Not a lot of the wants, but wants then were much different than wants today. Back then a want was usually just wall to wall carpeting and a dishwasher.
I'm thinking we will see more housing like those in the future.
You know - I had one of those (1952, 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 900 sq foot). I hope I don't have to go back..... I HATE living with 1 bathroom, and while I work hard for my money (and the house does take a chunk of that), I would work hard anyway, and spend it on frivolous stuff if it wasn't for my house. While I don't need a house as big as the one we have, we bought what was available in our area, and do love it. My dream house is a Spanish ranch, with courtyard, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths (if the world is perfect), 3 car garage (my husband's dream) and big rooms. While I am amazed at what people call "small" these days (how can a house that's over 3000 square feet be small???) - I think the world is perfect when there are options for everyone...!!
Posts: 3634 | Location: Northern Virginia, USA | Registered: May 29, 2003
Higher priced housing is not due only to houses having gotten bigger. Inflation has driven up the cost of housing as well. Most definitely, affordability can be improved by reducing square footage.
Originally posted by Debid: You know - I had one of those (1952, 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 900 sq foot). I hope I don't have to go back..... I HATE living with 1 bathroom, and while I work hard for my money (and the house does take a chunk of that), I would work hard anyway, and spend it on frivolous stuff if it wasn't for my house. While I don't need a house as big as the one we have, we bought what was available in our area, and do love it. My dream house is a Spanish ranch, with courtyard, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths (if the world is perfect), 3 car garage (my husband's dream) and big rooms. While I am amazed at what people call "small" these days (how can a house that's over 3000 square feet be small???) - I think the world is perfect when there are options for everyone...!!
I also don't yearn for a basic house. I like the thought of a Spanish ranch built around a courtyard. It needn't be huge, but not too small either.
Posts: 945 | Location: Southern CA (Southbay) | Registered: Nov 08, 2005
