McMansions are history. What had been conceived as status symbols for emerging wealth are now regarded as crass, wasteful mistakes within the wake of the homes bubble. New research is showing that large, rambling, costly homes packed close together in cul-de-sacs have fallen from grace. New homes being built are smaller and more practical. Realtors and architects believe the sentiment that McMansions are out is more than just a passing real estate trend.
Age of McMansion come to an end
McMansions–also known as beginner castles, garage Mahals and faux chateaus–may have reached their peak during the housing bubble. A return of demand for McMansions may be unlikely. TIME reports that Trulia has released a report on real estate trends that said the average square footage of an American home is decreasing for the very first time in 60 years. Homes within the U.S. had reached an average size of about 983 square feet by simply 1950. Trulia’s American Dream Survey shows a dramatic increase since then. By simply 2004, the average square footage of an American home was 2,349 square feet. Homes of at least 3,000 square feet are considered McMansions. Only 9 percent of the respondents in a different study, the Trulia-Harris Interactive Survey, said they were interested in homes reaching that size. A majority of the housing market, 64 percent of buyers, sought homes from 800-2,000 square feet.
Housing market reaches their brains
Builders and architects are already adjusting to changing demand. Houses market experts believe the change might be permanent. In a CNBC article about the downsizing trend, Pete Flint of Trulia said smaller brand new homes signal the beginning of a long-term condition in the houses market . Numbers collected in a 2009 survey of builders are being borne out now. Nine out of 10 builders said they had smaller, cheaper homes on their construction schedule. When interviewed by CNBC, Kermit Baker, the chief economist at the American Institute of Architects, said design professionals are leaving the McMansion concept behind as demand moves to more practical layouts.Amid the wreckage of the economic downturn, Paul Bishop, vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors told CNBC that McMansions have become inappropriate.
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