Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Americans awaken to understand McMansions have become a waste

McMansions are no longer in fashion. What had been conceived as status symbols for emerging wealth are now regarded as crass, wasteful mistakes in the wake of the houses bubble. New research is showing that large, rambling, costly homes packed close together in cul-de-sacs have fallen from grace. New homes being built are smaller and more practical. Realtors and architects believe the sentiment that McMansions are out is more than just a passing real estate trend.

Age of McMansions ends in crisis

The housing bubble appears to are the peak of the McMansion, which has been lampooned simply by such terms as beginner castle and Hummer house. Now the homes bubble has burst, the decline of Mcmansions might be permanent. As reported by TIME, a report on real estate trends by Trulia shows the average square feet of floor plans in United States homes has gone down for the very first time in six decades. In 1950, 983 square feet was the average size of homes within the United States of America. By 2004, the average United States of America home had expanded to 2,349 square feet, as shown in Trulia’s American Dream Survey. McMansions, categorized at a minimum of 3,000 square feet, were sought simply by only 9 percent of the individuals questioned in a different study, the Trulia-Harris Interactive Survey. Most home buyers-64 percent-were shopping in the 800-2,000 square foot range.

Housing market transformed by simply recession

Builders and architects are already adjusting to changing demand. Housing market experts believe the change could possibly be permanent. In a CNBC article about the downsizing trend, Pete Flint of Trulia said smaller fresh homes signal the beginning of a long-term condition in the houses market . Numbers collected in a 2009 survey of builders are being borne out now. Nine out of 10 builders said they had smaller, cheaper homes on their construction schedule. Kermit Baker, the chief economist at the American Institute of Architects, told CNBC his profession is moving away from the McMansion time as homeowners demand more practical designs.Public perception is also working against McMansions. Paul Bishop, vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors told CNBC that in the brand new austere environment brought about by the recession, large, ostentatious homes are becoming the laughingstock of neighborhoods.

Further reading

TIME

newsfeed.time.com

Trulia

info.trulia.com

CNBC

cnbc.com



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