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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There is no housing crisis, there is only an entitlement crisis. People expect houses to be way larger than before, they want fancy kitchens, his and hers closets,  a separate bedroom for each child. Expectations have become completely detached from what the average person can realistically afford. This is a giant ruse by developers and the real estate lobby. [/quote]

This is wrong because we actively want a small starter home and don't care about big closets or a bunch of bathrooms or a big kitchen. We are fine with something 1200-1600 ft and don't need it to be updated. But what I'm describing will cost you 500-600k in the DC area. There are a handful of places where you can get it for under 500k but they have horrible schools and we want at least okay schools.

The problem is that houses like that haven't been built in 30 or more years builders can make a lot more off high end, huge homes). The ones that are out there get gobbled up by developers who will tear them down and replace with a 1.5m new build. And the demand for land by these developers drives up the price across the board. If you can even get one of these houses at all-- lots of people coming in with all cash offers or willing to waive contingencies because they intend to tear it down anyway.

So yeah actually there is a housing shortage that is unrelated to some people wanting extravagant houses that are also magically cheap.[/quote]

You are living in fantasy land. It's not even possible to build a new house that is 1600 sq feet for under 500k anymore in an area like DC.  Even if the land were free you would not be able to find someone to build you a house for this price, (including site prep).  Also, the median household income in the DC metro area is high enough to afford something that cost 500-600k, so it is not realistic to make a below average income for this area and expect to be able to afford to live in a the best school district. [/quote]

The average cost in the US is $150/square foot, so $240k for 1600 square feet.

When you say an area like DC…do you really mean DC…or are you including say Germantown or somewhere in Loudon?[/quote]

You cannot build a 1600 sq ft house in the DC metro area for $150 per Sq foot. This 1400sq ft home here has a base price of 320k. The base price does not include the foundation, site prep, driveway, permits/utility connections, permit fees. You still need to buy actual land to put the house one. The base price for this house is $230/sq ft and that does not include site prep which will be at least 50k, foundation is going to be another 50k+ depending on site conditions. Then add another 10k for the driveway and 10-20k for permits.  15k for utility set-up  This 1400sq ft house now cost a minimum of 445k to builder grade quality finishes and no upgrades. Don't forget the real estate recordation and transfer taxes which will add around another 2.5k in northern Virginia. Then you also need to include mortgage recordation taxes which will be around 1.5k. and another 10k for loan closing costs. So the absolute cheapest possible that you can purchase this house in NOVA (ignoring the cost of land) is around 460k. There is nowhere in NOVA where you can buy land to build a house for 40k. Even a 1/8th or 1/6th acre lot will cost you more than 40k. It is literally impossible to build a house 1600 sq foot house for under 500k in NOVA. The economics just don't work, due to increasingly stringent energy efficiency standards/building codes, higher costs of materials. [/quote]

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