Starter homes are now pre-fab Tiny homes: consider moving

[Anonymous]

Tiny homes are the new starter homes and tiny homes are everywhere in the Colorado Rockies.

[Anonymous]

The annoying thing about this to me is that they will tear down a bunch of actual starter homes (2-3 bedrooms, 1000-1500 sq ft, dated kitchen and bath, yard needs work) to put up a 5 bedroom, 1.4 million house.

But then they'll also build a bunch of "tiny homes" out of brand new materials, but they are all less than 1000 sq ft, may have only 1 bedroom or no separate bedrooms at all, and be completely unsuitable for even a small family or, in some cases, even a couple.

The whole thing is a cash grab for developers who can buy land or small houses for cash, build as cheaply as possible but with "up to date" finishes that will look nice in photos, and then make a tidy profit.

But it sucks for people who are actually looking for a practical starter home or even just a small family home to move to from their condo. People are having fewer kids these days but they are still having kids. You're options should not be either a 700 sq ft tiny home with a kitchenette and a single loft bedroom, or a 5 bedroom farmhouse monstrosity with a mudroom, office, music room, and finished basement. Most people's lives and families need something between those two options.

[Anonymous]

We are living in our starter (forever?) home. It is neither of what you describe above. It's also not in a trendy area code, though still in DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are living in our starter (forever?) home. It is neither of what you describe above. It's also not in a trendy area code, though still in DMV.

That's great. My point is that for people on the market now, it is getting increasingly hard to do that. Starter homes are often snapped up by developers as tear downs to be replaced with huge homes that are decidedly NOT starter homes. Even those that are not, have seen massive increases in costs, in part because there are so many investors on the market, which impacts supply and can make it hard to buy a home if you are financing it, which the vast majority of first time buyers are.

People often accuse new, younger buyers of being unrealistic about their first home and how big or nice it will be. IME, most first time buyers become fairly realistic quite quickly, but there are simply not enough starter homes available within a starter budget, and those that are there get snapped up quickly (often by developers). This is true even in non-trendy area codes with mediocre-to-bad schools -- homes offered at lower price points go very quickly and there aren't many of them, and first time buyers are frequently outbid by investors.

To then be told "oh the tiny home is the new starter home" and then be shown a 500 sq ft cabin in the woods with one bedroom and that does not even appear to be incorporated into a city with schools and other services is a slap in the face.

Give me a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 1200 sq foot bungalow with a 1980s kitchen in Wheaton inbound for an okay but not great schools and I will buy it, but not for 600k. This is what I'm saying.

[Anonymous]

Abolish zoning and the free market will take care of the issue.

[Anonymous]

Family of 4 living in a 1200 sq ft house built in 1929. We've raised our kids here. They're teens now.

Plenty of non-Americans live in small apartments (small by American standards), even middle class Europeans and Asians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Family of 4 living in a 1200 sq ft house built in 1929. We've raised our kids here. They're teens now.

Plenty of non-Americans live in small apartments (small by American standards), even middle class Europeans and Asians.

Family of 4 in 1250 square feet. We are squished in here now that my husband and I both predominately WFH.

[Anonymous]

Most people delay kids until their 30s, so this gives you a good time to buy and live in your starter home, built equity and then move into a 3 bedroom + after.

I bought a 2 bedroom townhouse in the DC area at 23, then lived in it until we moved to our forever home before having kids at 30. But even still, you can live in a starter home until you have 2 kids at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Family of 4 living in a 1200 sq ft house built in 1929. We've raised our kids here. They're teens now.

Plenty of non-Americans live in small apartments (small by American standards), even middle class Europeans and Asians.

non-Americans can fit into tiny spaces more comfortably bc they take up less space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are living in our starter (forever?) home. It is neither of what you describe above. It's also not in a trendy area code, though still in DMV.

That's great. My point is that for people on the market now, it is getting increasingly hard to do that. Starter homes are often snapped up by developers as tear downs to be replaced with huge homes that are decidedly NOT starter homes. Even those that are not, have seen massive increases in costs, in part because there are so many investors on the market, which impacts supply and can make it hard to buy a home if you are financing it, which the vast majority of first time buyers are.

People often accuse new, younger buyers of being unrealistic about their first home and how big or nice it will be. IME, most first time buyers become fairly realistic quite quickly, but there are simply not enough starter homes available within a starter budget, and those that are there get snapped up quickly (often by developers). This is true even in non-trendy area codes with mediocre-to-bad schools -- homes offered at lower price points go very quickly and there aren't many of them, and first time buyers are frequently outbid by investors.

To then be told "oh the tiny home is the new starter home" and then be shown a 500 sq ft cabin in the woods with one bedroom and that does not even appear to be incorporated into a city with schools and other services is a slap in the face.

Give me a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 1200 sq foot bungalow with a 1980s kitchen in Wheaton inbound for an okay but not great schools and I will buy it, but not for 600k. This is what I'm saying.

You are 100% correct. The term victim blaming doesn’t apply here, but something close to it does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Family of 4 living in a 1200 sq ft house built in 1929. We've raised our kids here. They're teens now.

Plenty of non-Americans live in small apartments (small by American standards), even middle class Europeans and Asians.

How much is your home worth now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 4 living in a 1200 sq ft house built in 1929. We've raised our kids here. They're teens now.

Plenty of non-Americans live in small apartments (small by American standards), even middle class Europeans and Asians.

non-Americans can fit into tiny spaces more comfortably bc they take up less space.

Ha ha! True. PP you replied to. We're petite people, not originally from the US.
Also: next year, we'll have a paid-off home! Just in time to either move or put some money into maintenance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 4 living in a 1200 sq ft house built in 1929. We've raised our kids here. They're teens now.

Plenty of non-Americans live in small apartments (small by American standards), even middle class Europeans and Asians.

How much is your home worth now?

The house is worthless. The land is worth 1M+, because it's close to downtown Bethesda. As soon as we sell, the house will be torn down for some gaudy monstrosity.

[Anonymous]

My history

One bedroom coop for 8 years.
Three bedroom 1,300 sf house 18 years
Five bedroom, 4000 sf house last 5 years.

Trouble is today people want to jump to big house directly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My history

One bedroom coop for 8 years.
Three bedroom 1,300 sf house 18 years
Five bedroom, 4000 sf house last 5 years.

Trouble is today people want to jump to big house directly.

... because people need the bigger home mostly when their kids are small, running all over the place, SAHM is taking care of them and needs a playroom and potentially there is someone working at home who needs a dedicated office area. Retirees and empty nesters don't need a large home. It's mostly something you need from ages 30-50.