Anonymous wrote:A friend listed his two bedroom condo in upper PG County and it sold for WAY over listing price in 24 hours - cash offer. He had nine offers on the house with 8 more showing scheduled for the weekend.

But every day I drive past a huge McMansion which was clearly put on a tear down on a tiny corner lot in Fairfax County. There is no yard left and its surrounded by smaller homes (2,000 sg feet) with bigger yards. Those smaller homes have gone in a short amount of time and the McMansion - priced well over the others is still for sale three months later.

Anonymous wrote:A friend listed his two bedroom condo in upper PG County and it sold for WAY over listing price in 24 hours - cash offer. He had nine offers on the house with 8 more showing scheduled for the weekend.

But every day I drive past a huge McMansion which was clearly put on a tear down on a tiny corner lot in Fairfax County. There is no yard left and its surrounded by smaller homes (2,000 sg feet) with bigger yards. Those smaller homes have gone in a short amount of time and the McMansion - priced well over the others is still for sale three months later.

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I think a lot of McMansions are sitting because you sometimes pay a premium for size that is not necessarily usable. For example - people don't really need large double height foyers or massive living rooms or bedrooms. I personally wouldn't buy one even if they were at the same price as non McMansions with equivalent number of rooms.

I agree somewhat..besides the premium for size, we also paid a premium for backing to woods, a walkout basement and a sunroom and it hardly matters now. These are things people can live without..I think if we didn't pay for those we could have easily sold our house for what we paid+realtor fees and walked out happy..

This, pretty much. As a househunter, I'm looking for 1) commute, 2) community, and 3) schools. After that, I have $xx to spend and I want a 3/2 with a garage and a reasonable yard. Everything beyond that is gravy--I'll take an extra bed or bath or a huge yard or a finished basement, but I don't need them and am not willing to pay extra for them. Some people are, of course, but if you have a lot of upgrades all stacked up, the chances of finding a buyer who wants and is willing to pay extra for all of them is slim. Maybe I love your woods, but I still don't care about the kitchen remodel, or what-have-you. You can wait for the perfect buyer who really does want it all and can pay, or you can take a hit on some of the extras, depending on how quickly you need to sell.

Anonymous wrote:This happens every summer. The market is just not as hot as it is in the spring of fall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think a lot of McMansions are sitting because you sometimes pay a premium for size that is not necessarily usable. For example - people don't really need large double height foyers or massive living rooms or bedrooms. I personally wouldn't buy one even if they were at the same price as non McMansions with equivalent number of rooms.

I agree somewhat..besides the premium for size, we also paid a premium for backing to woods, a walkout basement and a sunroom and it hardly matters now. These are things people can live without..I think if we didn't pay for those we could have easily sold our house for what we paid+realtor fees and walked out happy..

This, pretty much. As a househunter, I'm looking for 1) commute, 2) community, and 3) schools. After that, I have $xx to spend and I want a 3/2 with a garage and a reasonable yard. Everything beyond that is gravy--I'll take an extra bed or bath or a huge yard or a finished basement, but I don't need them and am not willing to pay extra for them. Some people are, of course, but if you have a lot of upgrades all stacked up, the chances of finding a buyer who wants and is willing to pay extra for all of them is slim. Maybe I love your woods, but I still don't care about the kitchen remodel, or what-have-you. You can wait for the perfect buyer who really does want it all and can pay, or you can take a hit on some of the extras, depending on how quickly you need to sell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think a lot of McMansions are sitting because you sometimes pay a premium for size that is not necessarily usable. For example - people don't really need large double height foyers or massive living rooms or bedrooms. I personally wouldn't buy one even if they were at the same price as non McMansions with equivalent number of rooms.

I agree somewhat..besides the premium for size, we also paid a premium for backing to woods, a walkout basement and a sunroom and it hardly matters now. These are things people can live without..I think if we didn't pay for those we could have easily sold our house for what we paid+realtor fees and walked out happy..

Anonymous wrote:I have noticed in 20015 (my neighborhood) that homes are sitting longer. We had homes selling quickly within a week or less but now, homes are staying on the market about a month or more.

Anonymous wrote:

I think a lot of McMansions are sitting because you sometimes pay a premium for size that is not necessarily usable. For example - people don't really need large double height foyers or massive living rooms or bedrooms. I personally wouldn't buy one even if they were at the same price as non McMansions with equivalent number of rooms.

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Anonymous wrote:I would love to buy the older, unrenovated home for $100K less. In your home, you got to pick your finishes. If I spend $100K less on the structure, I can afford to pick my finishes--just like you did.

Fair enough..With an additional 100K you could renovate your kitchen, bathrooms, paint and maybe the flooring to your taste..but what about the costs of roof replacement, HVAC replacement, wiring replacement..and what about additional closet space and larger rooms, open floor plans..but no amount of renovation is going to get you a larger kitchen with pantry if it is tiny to begin with, or larger rooms, or more bathrooms (I don't know how people survived on just 2 1/2 baths - now even a TH has 3 baths). You could only work with the small space that you have and renovate that..

From what I've seen, the houses priced 100K less do not have upgrades, have very small rooms, closet and storage space negligible..the reason we bought our home new was because we could get more value for the money - for 100K more we had so much more space and the house was new (and we didn't have to worry about replacing roof, HVAC, wiring)

You're talking like a McMansion owner.

The features you mention in the first paragraph absolutely factor into the price people offer for new houses. I would prefer a smaller well built home with finishes I choose than a large house with someone else's finishes.

As for the second paragraph - I don't think that a new house means you don't have to worry about the roof, HVAC, wiring, etc. There are a lot of greedy developers in DC who build shoddy houses.

+1, was just about to say that OP sounds like she has a mcmansion. Mcmansions have really fallen out of favor, having been exposed for the shoddy construction and wastefulness they are. 2.5 bathrooms would be ideal for our family (1 kid now, another one planned in the future). I can't imagine needing a third. And Mcmansions are just so out of scale-- a "large" kitchen in a mcmansion is way too big, unless your family is huge or you entertain large groups all the time.

The talk about "McMansions" being "out of favor" and "out of scale' is favored by those who listen only to the sound of their own voices, yet regularly contradicted by others who prefer looking at data.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/26/the-ultimate-symbol-of-the-pre-recession-boom-is-back/?utm_term=.67d3c72c966d

http://www.newsweek.com/big-houses-us-are-back-and-theres-growing-housing-bubble-631568

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephanefitch/2014/12/10/big-houses-and-sprawling-suburbs-are-back-and-better-than-ever/#18979a62ce32

None of these, even the WP, focus on the D.C. area.

I don't think that matters. Not every trifle has to specifically focus on DC area to apply. Just looking outside at all the McMansions still being built IN the DC area is proof enough they haven't "fallen out of favor." Builders are building them, and people are buying them.

Of course it matters. Nothing is more location sensitive than real estate. What happens in Phoenix, Tampa, or even LA has almost no impact on D.C. What happens in ashburn had almost no impact on Bloomingdale or Columbia Heights.

In terms of market activity, are they being sold as quickly and for as much? I am in fairly close in Bethesda and two new builds in the neighborhood that could be considered McMansions sat for almost a year and sold for hundreds of thousands less than the original asking price. So, sure they sold, but it certainly seemed like the builder miscalculated demand.

In the close in suburbs new builds are not selling as quickly as they did a couple of years ago, but they seem to be selling for more. It doesn't surprise me that people balk in neighborhoods where new construction routinely is listed for over $2 million.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to buy the older, unrenovated home for $100K less. In your home, you got to pick your finishes. If I spend $100K less on the structure, I can afford to pick my finishes--just like you did.

Fair enough..With an additional 100K you could renovate your kitchen, bathrooms, paint and maybe the flooring to your taste..but what about the costs of roof replacement, HVAC replacement, wiring replacement..and what about additional closet space and larger rooms, open floor plans..but no amount of renovation is going to get you a larger kitchen with pantry if it is tiny to begin with, or larger rooms, or more bathrooms (I don't know how people survived on just 2 1/2 baths - now even a TH has 3 baths). You could only work with the small space that you have and renovate that..

From what I've seen, the houses priced 100K less do not have upgrades, have very small rooms, closet and storage space negligible..the reason we bought our home new was because we could get more value for the money - for 100K more we had so much more space and the house was new (and we didn't have to worry about replacing roof, HVAC, wiring)

You're talking like a McMansion owner.

The features you mention in the first paragraph absolutely factor into the price people offer for new houses. I would prefer a smaller well built home with finishes I choose than a large house with someone else's finishes.

As for the second paragraph - I don't think that a new house means you don't have to worry about the roof, HVAC, wiring, etc. There are a lot of greedy developers in DC who build shoddy houses.

+1, was just about to say that OP sounds like she has a mcmansion. Mcmansions have really fallen out of favor, having been exposed for the shoddy construction and wastefulness they are. 2.5 bathrooms would be ideal for our family (1 kid now, another one planned in the future). I can't imagine needing a third. And Mcmansions are just so out of scale-- a "large" kitchen in a mcmansion is way too big, unless your family is huge or you entertain large groups all the time.

The talk about "McMansions" being "out of favor" and "out of scale' is favored by those who listen only to the sound of their own voices, yet regularly contradicted by others who prefer looking at data.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/26/the-ultimate-symbol-of-the-pre-recession-boom-is-back/?utm_term=.67d3c72c966d

http://www.newsweek.com/big-houses-us-are-back-and-theres-growing-housing-bubble-631568

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephanefitch/2014/12/10/big-houses-and-sprawling-suburbs-are-back-and-better-than-ever/#18979a62ce32

None of these, even the WP, focus on the D.C. area.

I don't think that matters. Not every trifle has to specifically focus on DC area to apply. Just looking outside at all the McMansions still being built IN the DC area is proof enough they haven't "fallen out of favor." Builders are building them, and people are buying them.

Of course it matters. Nothing is more location sensitive than real estate. What happens in Phoenix, Tampa, or even LA has almost no impact on D.C. What happens in ashburn had almost no impact on Bloomingdale or Columbia Heights.

In terms of market activity, are they being sold as quickly and for as much? I am in fairly close in Bethesda and two new builds in the neighborhood that could be considered McMansions sat for almost a year and sold for hundreds of thousands less than the original asking price. So, sure they sold, but it certainly seemed like the builder miscalculated demand.