The future of American housing

[snoughnut]

18 minutes ago, jdsky said:

Fuck tiny homes.  We downsized a little over a year ago to 2700sq. ft.  That is the absolute minimum I would ever want to live in at least until my brain is as mushy as bidentards. 

It is on a city lot in a decent development where all my neighbors have been great people.  I was burned out mowing 2 acres of grass and tending to a pool for the past 20 years.  Love my postage stamp yard that I can pull out the zero turn and mow in ten minutes flat including blowing the clippings off the drive and sidewalk.

If we get claustrophobic we head to the lake house and get all the wilderness we want for three seasons out of the year when all the summer rats are gone.  Life is good. 

Claustrophobic in a 2700 sq. ft. house? 

We will be moving from our 2200 sq. ft. home to our 1400 sq. ft. cottage in the near future. Will my wife and I be killing each other in such a confined area? 

[Blackstar]

13 minutes ago, snoughnut said:

Claustrophobic in a 2700 sq. ft. house? 

We will be moving from our 2200 sq. ft. home to our 1400 sq. ft. cottage in the near future. Will my wife and I be killing each other in such a confined area? 

Thinking my thoughts.

My current house for the last 18 years was 1600 sqft until I added another 180 sqft 2 years ago. We rarely go in the basement. I'd like to turn it into an apartment but the wife won't let me.

 

I lived in a 1000 sqft trailer for 4 years before this. Never felt the need for more. I felt the need for a garage though.....lol

 

Now my 1500 sqft shop I'd never give up.

[EvilBird]

34 minutes ago, snoughnut said:

Claustrophobic in a 2700 sq. ft. house? 

We will be moving from our 2200 sq. ft. home to our 1400 sq. ft. cottage in the near future. Will my wife and I be killing each other in such a confined area? 

I think he meant being in the city on a tiny lot more so. 

[jdsky]

Yes, it can get a bit claustrophobic in the city when you have neighbors on both sides and on the lots in back.  We would have purchased one that backed up to woods but none were available at the time we sold and no timeframe at all on when they would be and the cost of building was just going up by the month.  By the time our house was finished - took 6 months - prices to build the same home we did had already gone up by $50K.

I think it's absolute bullshit where we are right now and there is nobody to blame but the current administration for continuing to give out free money by the trillions and assist lazy asses that did not want to go out and get jobs.  Now we have runaway inflation and high interest rates pushing average Americans and specifically first time home buyers completely out of the market.  They have no choice but to build an overpriced tiny home.  That's completely fucked up.

As for the dying boomers and what will happen to their homes.  For the most part absolutely nothing.  They have plenty of kids and grandkids that are waiting in line to inherit them.  Some will sell those to pocket the cash, others are just biding their time and hoping they get to be the lucky ones to drop into a nice home.  My guess is a lot of these homes are already inhabited by family that cannot afford to buy a home of their own or pay the ridiculously high rents that are being charged these days.  May daughter pays $2K a month for her one bedroom apartment in the MSP suburbs.

Edited September 21, 2023 by jdsky

[Not greg b]

16 minutes ago, jdsky said:

Yes, it can get a bit claustrophobic in the city when you have neighbors on both sides and on the lots in back.  We would have purchased one that backed up to woods but none were available at the time we sold and no timeframe at all on when they would be and the cost of building was just going up by the month.  By the time our house was finished - took 6 months - prices to build the same home we did had already gone up by $50K.

I think it's absolute bullshit where we are right now and there is nobody to blame but the current administration for continuing to give out free money by the trillions and assist lazy asses that did not want to go out and get jobs.  Now we have runaway inflation and high interest rates pushing average Americans and specifically first time home buyers completely out of the market.  They have no choice but to build an overpriced tiny home.  That's completely fucked up.

As for the dying boomers and what will happen to their homes.  For the most part absolutely nothing.  They have plenty of kids and grandkids that are waiting in line to inherit them.  Some will sell those to pocket the cash, others are just biding their time and hoping they get to be the lucky ones to drop into a nice home.  My guess is a lot of these homes are already inhabited by family that cannot afford to buy a home of their own or pay the ridiculously high rents that are being charged these days.  May daughter pays $2K a month for her one bedroom apartment in the MSP suburbs.

My rent is about 1200 for a studio in a high rent Minneapolis suburb. I am looking at lake houses now or acerageas i am done being here. Only reason I have been renting here as long as I have is I live out of suitcases as I travel constantly for work. This is my first week here in about a month. And i really didn’t miss it at all. 

[SSFB]

5 minutes ago, Not greg b said:

My rent is about 1200 for a studio in a high rent Minneapolis suburb. I am looking at lake houses now or acerageas i am done being here. Only reason I have been renting here as long as I have is I live out of suitcases as I travel constantly for work. This is my first week here in about a month. And i really didn’t miss it at all. 

What do you do for a living?

[Not greg b]

4 minutes ago, SSFB said:

What do you do for a living?

I am a power equipment rep. I am working the gie show or whatever they call it now next month so that is another week i will be gone. 

[Not greg b]

One of my co workers went like 3 months recently living in hotels before going back to his house 

[800renegaderider]

Just something kinda crazy to think about at how ridiculous prices have gotten. My old house first house bought in 09 was a smaller starter home 1400sqft and I was paying $1125 a month for it. That same house at todays value per Zillow same down payment % same rate all that the payment be $2900 bucks. Not a chance in hell I could do that all over today if I was just starting out at what starting pay is for techs in this area. Buying that house was actually cheaper than renting at the time today I think it be cheaper to just rent than try and buy something. I can see why these tiny houses are becoming so popular people can’t even afford a starter home anymore.

Edited September 21, 2023 by 800renegaderider

[Crnr2Crnr]

for anyone considering building down the road I highly recommend this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Not-So-Big-House-Blueprint/dp/1561581305/ref=asc_df_1561581305/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312170531694&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17210091773590598372&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1028269&hvtargid=pla-571405805738&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=62860524940&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312170531694&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17210091773590598372&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1028269&hvtargid=pla-571405805738

 

[steve from amherst]

10 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Those tiny homes are fantastic. My son is in a 550 sqft apartment on the 10th floor of a high rise in Calgary and he's paying $1750/month rent plus utilities. He could buy the unit he lives in for $260k, Canadian dollars, which is cheap compared to Ontario prices.

He would be all over something like this but you couldn't build that in Canada.

mine is 1850 and we would have no problem if there was no second floor . If you asked me the wall color of 2 of the bedrooms up there I couldn't even tell ya.

[DriftBusta]

1 hour ago, 800renegaderider said:

Just something kinda crazy to think about at how ridiculous prices have gotten. My old house first house bought in 09 was a smaller starter home 1400sqft and I was paying $1125 a month for it. That same house at todays value per Zillow same down payment % same rate all that the payment be $2900 bucks. Not a chance in hell I could do that all over today if I was just starting out at what starting pay is for techs in this area. Buying that house was actually cheaper than renting at the time today I think it be cheaper to just rent than try and buy something. I can see why these tiny houses are becoming so popular people can’t even afford a starter home anymore.

My brother and sister in law bought a lot to retire on in Georgia.  Got a quote for a fairly basic 2000 sq. ft. ranch at 650k.  Thats nuts.  I guess things are still booming in that area, and the builders would rather just stick in the developments where they can spend a couple years in one neighborhood building one after another.  Meanwhile up here in ct it has slowed down dramatically.  Realtor friend of mine said there is hardly any inventory because so many people refinanced at low rates, and they don't want to roll into a 7+% rate.  We want to downsize and build something in the next few years, but not with prices the way they are now.

[Voodoo]

It's really the only answer if you want a back yard of any type, so no apartment or condo.

Canada needs 3.5 million homes built by 2030. Best we've ever done is around 200,000 a year.

That was when you could find construction workers and the numbers made sense to builders and developers.

New home starts have dried right up. It basically stopped in my area and I heard a number of under 100 in June..in Mississauga. A city of almost a million people.

The dope is letting in a million people a year.

This problem can not be fixed easily, and certainly not by government....unless the twat at the top stops adding to the demand side of the equation.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Voodoo

[800renegaderider]

33 minutes ago, DriftBusta said:

My brother and sister in law bought a lot to retire on in Georgia.  Got a quote for a fairly basic 2000 sq. ft. ranch at 650k.  Thats nuts.  I guess things are still booming in that area, and the builders would rather just stick in the developments where they can spend a couple years in one neighborhood building one after another.  Meanwhile up here in ct it has slowed down dramatically.  Realtor friend of mine said there is hardly any inventory because so many people refinanced at low rates, and they don't want to roll into a 7+% rate.  We want to downsize and build something in the next few years, but not with prices the way they are now.

Yup it’s crazy what it cost to build now and I can’t see how it can last at these prices and they aren’t cause it slowing here too. I watch the real estate in the towns around us just to see and there is 2 new houses 1700 and 2000sq couple towns over that have been for sale for almost a year. The builder is finding out the hard way no one can afford 700k around here that’s like 4-5k month payment with NH property taxes. They’ve dropped the prices on those a few times and still nothing.I’m seeing lot more reduced price in listings now too. The quotes I got for a 2 car attached month or two were ridiculous like over double what I was expecting and thought was high. I kick myself for not just doing the garage when we built in 20 but we wanted upgrades and had a budget to stay in couldn’t afford both.

[Angry ginger]

12 hours ago, snoughnut said:

Claustrophobic in a 2700 sq. ft. house? 

We will be moving from our 2200 sq. ft. home to our 1400 sq. ft. cottage in the near future. Will my wife and I be killing each other in such a confined area? 

i'm looking to go from just under 4000 to somewhere in the 1700-2000sf range.   with kids gone zero reason to have the space i have now.  2 bedrooms that will get used less than 10 days a year combined,   i havent sat in the living room more than a handful of times in the last 20 years and a game room thats only used when my wifes got a bunch of older kids over when schools off. 

[Voodoo]

21 minutes ago, 800renegaderider said:

Yup it’s crazy what it cost to build now and I can’t see how it can last at these prices and they aren’t cause it slowing here too. I watch the real estate in the towns around us just to see and there is 2 new houses 1700 and 2000sq couple towns over that have been for sale for almost a year. The builder is finding out the hard way no one can afford 700k around here that’s like 4-5k month payment with NH property taxes. They’ve dropped the prices on those a few times and still nothing.I’m seeing lot more reduced price in listings now too. The quotes I got for a 2 car attached month or two were ridiculous like over double what I was expecting and thought was high. I kick myself for not just doing the garage when we built in 20 but we wanted upgrades and had a budget to stay in couldn’t afford both.

400 bucks a square foot for something decent, house wise and $150k for a half acre.

Even turds of a house on a half acre my way went from 200k to 500k in the last 5 years.

I could not afford my place now, not by a wide margin. Glad I built my shop when I did. it would be $400k to build today.

I didn't want the house we are in now, but my wife did.

She's smarter than me, unless you take into consideration her choice in husband.

[Angry ginger]

Just now, Voodoo said:

400 bucks a square foot for something decent, house wise and $150k for a half acre.

Even turds of a house on a half acre my way went from 200k to 500k in the last 5 years.

I could not afford my place now, not by a wide margin. Glad I built my shop when I did. it would be $400k to build today.

I didn't want the house we are in now, but my wife did.

She's smarter than me, unless you take into consideration her choice in husband.

my dad asked me if i had looked for a lot since i can't find anything to move to.  Laughed and said i just sold a lot for 288k 25 minutes away inland(big lot i owned for awhile) so there was no way I was touching a lot for less than 350-400 where i am at.  At which point i might as well stay

[Mag6240]

The little woman and I are considering building on the 80 acres I own in Sconnie - but holy fuck would it be expensive to build what we want right now, considering its ground up (Well, Septic, Driveway, Power, etc etc) and that is not even 2000 sq ft.  We are seriously considering keeping the two places we have, perhaps building a small shop/garage at her place out back, and biding our time.  Neither of us have to do anything right now, which IMO why would we?

[Highmark]

17 hours ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

was agreeing with you on the average footprint... homes have just gotten bigger and bigger.  when we built in 2005 I insisted we stay under a certain square footage as bigger isn't necessarily better but still spent quite a bit going with a high end builder, over building and using higher end materials/finish.  in 2009, our builder who was the president of the local home builders association began getting more requests for reasonable sized well finished homes as ours was the only one on his website that wasn't 6000sq+ and $1m+ 

Larry retired a few years ago and sold the company.  Great guy.

https://www.larrymeyerconstruction.com/

If not big then people still put higher end stuff in them.   Ave price of homes decade to decade is a retarded comparison.

[spin_dry]

My total fixed monthly expenses just took a major jump. $420/mo.  

Edited September 21, 2023 by spin_dry

[Voodoo]

12 minutes ago, spin_dry said:

My total fixed monthly expenses just took a major jump. $420/mo.  

I pay more than that in municipal tax..

[spin_dry]

1 minute ago, Voodoo said:

I pay more than that in municipal tax..

Starlink is expensive. lol. 

[Voodoo]

2 minutes ago, spin_dry said:

Starlink is expensive. lol. 

$140/month here. 

My cable interwebs is $100 for comparison @10 MB/s

[spin_dry]

6 minutes ago, Voodoo said:

$140/month here. 

My cable interwebs is $100 for comparison @10 MB/s

I was paying $95/mo for T-Mobile phone and cellular 5G internet. Just internet alone with starlink mobility is $150/mo. 

[SnogirlDi]

On 9/20/2023 at 9:36 PM, Blackstar said:

Thinking my thoughts.

My current house for the last 18 years was 1600 sqft until I added another 180 sqft 2 years ago. We rarely go in the basement. I'd like to turn it into an apartment but the wife won't let me.

 

I lived in a 1000 sqft trailer for 4 years before this. Never felt the need for more. I felt the need for a garage though.....lol

 

Now my 1500 sqft shop I'd never give up.