The McMansion style, built between 2001 and 2007 and averaging 3,000 to 5,000 square feet, lacks the appeal with today's buyers compared to old vintage homes or large freshly built homes.
The realization is especially hard on homeowners trying to sell because when they bought the giant homes in the early 2000s, they thought of them as great investments, Feinstein said.
Then, the idea was that bigger was better because prices presumably would keep going up.
— Chicago Tribune
Now, housing analysts say the day of the McMansion has come and gone. An analysis just completed by Trulia shows that the amount buyers are willing to pay for McMansions over other homes has fallen 26 percent in just four years. As homes in general have been regaining value, McMansions have been losing appeal in comparison to others as the giants of the pre-crash years have aged.
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6 Comments
I don't think its over. I live in the Denver metro and right now builders can't build fast enough. Most new homes in this area have full basements usually giving you about 3,000 to 5,000 SF.
Like it or not, people with kids especially want space. To provide x ft2 for x$ requires cheaper construction with regards to materials, craft, and project delivery. Also, a home is an investment, and space, number of bedrooms, etc is what heavily dictates whether or not a home will maintain/gain value. This is a reality...the zeitgeist...like it or not. If architects/designers cannot or will not engage this cultural and economic reality builders will, and will do so with the least effort possible. Perhaps if we could step down from the high horse we would be able to offer alternatives and maybe improve suburbia.
Agree with jla-x. Architecture schools simply ignore this market because it doesn't hue to the modernist education on offer. The homeowner doesn't know what they want, and if they do, it's horribly kitsch. We will continue to have a negligible effect on the built environment if we refuse to deal with the realities of the market place. We'll just call these houses by another cool name and continue to laugh at them while the suburbs keep paving over our landscape.
The McMansion will live on. I live in a larger development that has a mixture of these and homes with actual quality and design. It all comes down to price per sq/ft. I live in a smaller craftsman style home in a part of the community that looks right out of the 1920s. But a neighborhood over you can buy one of these huge houses for less per sq/ft.
Some of the newer McMansions in our neighborhood also have some pretty decent layouts, interior materials and styling. And the builders are actually really good. But for some reason they still have these awful generic facades, which just ruins the whole house. We had one completed just a few weeks ago that's a monstrosity.
I live in a smaller craftsman style home in a part of the community that looks right out of the 1920s. But a neighborhood over you can buy one of these huge houses for less per sq/ft.
Yet more proof that people will pay for character, something these McMansions lack.
mc mansions don't die - they multiply
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