I have read numerous studies that smaller homes (not teeny, but 'normal size') make for closer families. The studies I read about this mentioned the number of daily interactions/forced passings in the home. You engage in more conversations, interactions, etc. People aren't in the separate wing of the home of in their gigantic bath-in suite kid bedroom. From what I've seen IRL, there is a lot of truth to this.

Anonymous wrote:In my searches in Arlington, there is often not that much of a price difference between well maintained, older 3-4 bedroom houses with 2500 sq ft (often around $1.5-$1.7 million) and relatively new McMansions with 5-6 bedrooms with 4000-5000 sq ft (often around $1.8-$2.0 million). So it can make lots of sense to just go for the bigger house, even if you don't really need the extra space.

In my N.Arl neighborhood every new build is 6-7 bedrooms and bathrooms, and many look like apartment buildings.

The builders make them this large because the lots are so expensive ($1 million+) that they have to build a huge house to reap a profit.

I know many downsizers and people with no kids or only 1-2 that are having trouble finding a home that is not a giant McMansion.

The smaller homes have huge bidding wars and go very, very fast.

We are a family of 3 in 3800 sq ft house and use all the rooms.

Three rooms are not used as much - guest bedroom (we only occasionally host guests), DD’s study room (she prefers to do homework in her bedroom) and our playroom/gym/TV room (DD doesn’t play with toys anymore, we hardly ever use treadmill and we have family movie nights occasionally).

I think part of the issue in this area is that if your main priority is getting a "new" house - whether that be true new construction or a turn-key flip of an older home - then the developers tend to make them massive in order to maximize their return.

We live in a nice area of DC and the people that bought the $2.5m dollar gigantic 6-bedroom flipped row house a few doors down from us are a DINK couple in their early 40s. They wanted a walkable turnkey home with parking and this is the price for entry. People walk by constantly and ask me if its an apartment building. It's not!

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Anonymous wrote:You guys are all insane. We have about 2000 sqft - family of four and it has never felt too small. This summer we will be empty nesters and I wonder what we will do with all the extra space.

+1.

I think our house is considered to be 2800 sq ft. With four people living here, I still feel like we have about 33% more space than we need/use.

It really depends on how your house is layed out.

Family of 3 in 2000 sq. ft. house.

We use every single room (+ the 1000 sq. ft. of storage / utility room in the unfinished basement) every day.

I wish we could add on 750 sq. ft. for a family room / mud room separate from the living room. I think it would make having friends over easier as my kid gets older and wants space away from us to spread out.

For us, it was a matter of inventory and timing (bought last year). We didn't need a house as big as what we ended up in (new construction), but there wasn't much of anything available with just a couple more rooms than our old house had (2500 sq ft) at the time we were looking. Definitely nothing available that wasn't going to require renovation, which we were not up for. It is really nice to have the space, but we do have a couple of rooms still unfurnished and without a short-term plan.

Anonymous wrote:We are family of 5 with 4000 sqft above ground and 1000 in the basement. We use every inch of the above ground - two offices, each one has their own bedroom, guest room, big family room etc. the basement is rented as a separate apartment for a single person. So it’s actually 6 people in 5,000 sqft house on half acre. I think this is just about right.

Shoe box 📦

Also our property tax system in DMV and real estate appreciation makes large homes “practical”

A lot of folks don’t necessarily want investment properties but want to get more real estate appreciation.

Easy solution buy a large expensive home.

My large house pays $13k a year in DMV property taxes. A small home maybe 8k. I appreciate way more than extra taxes I pay.

On Long Island, Bergen County NJ, Westchester they pound large houses in taxes. My house would pay $36,000 a year property tax while a smaller home 12k. People downsize quickly or buy smaller homes.

Who wants to pay 2k extra a month on empty bedrooms?

Taxing the hell out of large homes makes sense as only families really live in them, you don’t have empty nesters, widows, folks with 1-2 kids sitting in 6,000-9,000 sf houses very often

Our lax zoning rules encourage it. I own a property in a town with very strict zoning codes. So houses I notice tend to be much smaller.

Family of 3 in an 8000 sq ft house.

We like to spread out.

We are family of 5 with 4000 sqft above ground and 1000 in the basement. We use every inch of the above ground - two offices, each one has their own bedroom, guest room, big family room etc. the basement is rented as a separate apartment for a single person. So it’s actually 6 people in 5,000 sqft house on half acre. I think this is just about right.

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We moved from a 5,300 square foot house to a 9,000 square foot house for more room. It depends on what your hobbies and proclivities are when considering the amount of space needed for one's pleasure.

Very similar here - 4K to 9.5K sq. ft for a couple. We wanted a less crowded garage, separate rooms for individual offices, a large guest suite for visitors, and dedicated rooms for a a gym, golf simulator, music, and other interests.

This is shockingly wasteful. I hope your dreams are haunted by people who can't afford any place to live, much less a massive house for just two people.

If you'd like to house homeless people, feel free to invite them to live with you, but why criticize those who are able to live as they choose? Jealousy?

NP here: Overconsumption like that leaves one open to criticism. Even if that house is a LEED-certified energy-efficient marvel, the amount of materials and space used for a house of that size is indefensible. I’m not jealous of people in houses like that. I’m depressed that they think it’s fine, and that there are thousands (millions?) of people who feel the same.

Indefensible, I’m not jealous, I’m not depressed? A lot to unpack here. Ugh this is what is wrong with our country in 2022. I’m a left coaster who doesn’t like the McCraftsman sprawl of NoVA but cmon this is just one out of a million lifestyle choices with carbon footprint implications. Define overconsumption. Should I lecture you to never fly on a jet airplane, drive, have children, or use air conditioning? Let them live in their big houses, this is America for crying out loud. Should we aspire for govt that tells people how to live their lives, maybe like Saudi Arabia which decides what women are and aren’t allowed to do. Oops soon that’ll be us too?

ridiculous

Family of 3 in a 2800 sf home and I wish I could afford a bigger home.

My kitchen is very small and I don’t have a dedicated office space. I would also love another full bath.

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Anonymous wrote:

We moved from a 5,300 square foot house to a 9,000 square foot house for more room. It depends on what your hobbies and proclivities are when considering the amount of space needed for one's pleasure.

Very similar here - 4K to 9.5K sq. ft for a couple. We wanted a less crowded garage, separate rooms for individual offices, a large guest suite for visitors, and dedicated rooms for a a gym, golf simulator, music, and other interests.

This is shockingly wasteful. I hope your dreams are haunted by people who can't afford any place to live, much less a massive house for just two people.

If you'd like to house homeless people, feel free to invite them to live with you, but why criticize those who are able to live as they choose? Jealousy?

NP here: Overconsumption like that leaves one open to criticism. Even if that house is a LEED-certified energy-efficient marvel, the amount of materials and space used for a house of that size is indefensible. I’m not jealous of people in houses like that. I’m depressed that they think it’s fine, and that there are thousands (millions?) of people who feel the same.

Indefensible, I’m not jealous, I’m not depressed? A lot to unpack here. Ugh this is what is wrong with our country in 2022. I’m a left coaster who doesn’t like the McCraftsman sprawl of NoVA but cmon this is just one out of a million lifestyle choices with carbon footprint implications. Define overconsumption. Should I lecture you to never fly on a jet airplane, drive, have children, or use air conditioning? Let them live in their big houses, this is America for crying out loud. Should we aspire for govt that tells people how to live their lives, maybe like Saudi Arabia which decides what women are and aren’t allowed to do. Oops soon that’ll be us too?