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Posted by Alan on February 17, 2007, 7:57 pm
> In the town where I live (and the surrounding area), builders do not
> like to build basements. They also don't like to build one-level
> houses. Apparently, the most profit is to be had from a 2-story on a
> slab foundation. Because that's all they want to build. Never mind
> that a couple of years ago, the local newspaper conducted a large
> survey of home buyers to find out what it is they want in a house.
> Overwhelmingly, the answer was "a one-level house with a basement."
> The two-story on a slab was not even on the radar.
>
> Presumably, the movement away from ranch houses is due to the ever-
> shrinking lot size. I remember when a quarter acre was a postage
> stamp. Now a quarter is considered a "large lot" by the builders. A
> lot size of 0.11 acre is quickly becoming the defacto standard around
> here. And for obvious reasons, you can't build much of a house on
> that unless it's multi-level.
>
> And presumably, they don't like to build basements because the
> basement adds nothing to the heated living area, and when they're
> figuring their profits, they have to figure price per square foot of
> HLA. So to maximize profit, they simply don't build basements.
>
> I sure looks like like home building has become simply an optimization
> problem. It's disappointing that builders (at least in my town) don't
> seem to care what home buyers actually want. They build what they
> want to build.
I had a realestate agent come to look over my property, not for
immediate sale, but because I wanted to make sure the changes I make
don't divert too radically from the marketplace. The problem with the
industry is that everything is reduced to a "national market" where
everyone is presummed to have the same tastes and preferences. All
buyer personalities are reduced to a uniform corporate mold. Also,
the realestate computer listing system seems to favor new homes and
recently developed neighborhoods. The search criteria is really
crude, and so property values favor the newer over the old, it seems
to me. The realestate agent doesn't seem to have professional skills
in terms of matching buyers with sellers, really, it seems from my
observation. Builders do their best to reduce costs, which means a
slab foundation, 2 story building, on a tiny lot. I agree with you
though, none of these things are what I want in my house. I like a
raised foundation, single story, and large lot. In the long run, I'm
pretty sure my tastes will better the average marketplace profit, as
we have purchased a large lot on the waterfront with deep water
access, and a single story ranch style house, which I'm currently
fixing up. One thing is for sure though, now is NOT the time to sell.
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