Good lord, American homes are huge

[n2doc]

BY JESS ZIMMERMAN
29 JUL 2011 9:36 AM


This infographic from the BBC shows how much newly built North American, and especially U.S., homes dwarf those currently being built in Europe. The average new U.S. home is more than twice as big as the average new home in the U.K.
http://www.grist.org/list/2011-07-29-good-lord-american-homes-are-huge

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8201900.stm

[wtmusic]

1. There probably is an inverse correlation with land prices nt

[Kablooie]

20. Also a correlation with space available.

[MineralMan]

2. Funny. My home is 88 square meters.

800 Sq. Ft. It was built in 1954, has three bedrooms, one bath, a living room and kitchen. It has a full basement of the same size, but that is not legally usable living space. Our basement is only semi finished.

My house in California was just 640 square feet.

Yes newly-built homes are obscenely large here, but there are lots of smaller, existing homes.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. The OP is about newly built homes. Not homes from the middle

of the last century. It says so. So what, exactly, is 'funny'? The fact that your home is older and smaller also points to the reckless overbuilding trend that the OP is speaking of.

[MineralMan]

4. Yes. I was just pointing out some information. I also said that

newly built houses were "obscenely large." Do read my entire reply, if you would. Thanks.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Just wondered what you saw as being 'funny'. So I asked.

You did not say. Perhaps you did not read my question entirely. I read yours completely and still did not see why the OP was 'funny' in that context. So I asked you.

[MineralMan]

17. Funny as in Odd or Interesting.

Figure of speech.

Those small old houses were completely adequate for families when they were built. It's odd or funny or interesting that people seem to think they need huge houses today.

[Speck Tater]

6. I spend a portion of my year in my 6 sq meter home on wheels.

I'm very happy in less than 12 square meters. My extra bedroom, dining room and living room total about 66 sq meters and I literally never go into any of those rooms. I could seal them up and fill them with concrete and never miss them. I use my kitchen, but it's way bigger than it needs to be. If I could sell the house in this market I'd move to a much smaller place. As it is, since the kids moved away and my wife passed, I have no use for all this space. For years I've wanted one of those "tiny houses" like the Tumbleweeds. http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/ Or maybe I'll just drive my camper/van to a beach somewhere in México and live in that from now on.

[Delphinus]

16. Sounds just about like mine, sans basement.

I've got 842 Sq. Ft. and a huge yard.

[XemaSab]

7. I think it's partly because

most Americans spend their lives in their houses, and expect their families to do the same.

[jwirr]

8. One of the reasons home are so costly. Everyone wants a Mc-Mansion. nt

[txlibdem]

11. Correction: everyone *used* to want a McMansion

From what I hear the 3000+ square foot monstrosities are not selling and the 2000-2500 sq ft homes are.

[jwirr]

14. Well that is actually good news,

[NickB79]

9. Our house is "only" 1900 sq. ft, and we only use half of it

The previous owners built an 800 sq. ft addition over the garage, and we really wish they hadn't. At least it will become the mother-in-law's suite when she retires and comes to live with us years down the road. Beyond that, there's a full, unfinished basement below us that's pretty much empty (too humid most of the year to do much with). THEN, there's the 2-car garage (amazing how much room we devote to our automobiles when you think about it). For the three of us, we really only need 1200 sq. ft or so, and a small garage/workshop. If it weren't for 1.5 acre lot it was on, proximity to work, and the good price we got, we probably would have passed.

The crazy thing is, most of our friends comment on how we have "such a little house" :rofl:

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. Our new house will be a little smaller than that, but there are 4 of us living there and we will

be running a business out of it. Someday down the road it will be too big for us, assuming the kids move out. If the economy worsens, I suppose we can make it a multi-generational home. LOL

[txlibdem]

10. Try comparing New York City apartment sizes to any of those

Never been but I hear they are about the size of a postage stamp.

[stuntcat]

21. In mine I could almost touch both sides at once

yah, does this include sizes for apartments?

Where we live now we've got big condo buildings all around, soooo many thousands of people stacked up. With their neat tended gardens and their downstairs groceries :puke:

[txlibdem]

22. I don't think the OP included New York apartments into their calculations at all

Apartments are all about cramming as many rent payers into the limited space as possible. I think it goes against our evolutionary instincts to be so cooped up like that.

[Remember Me]

If you've ever been to Europe, you realize

how little land they have, how little there is to go around.

We, on the other hand, have an almost endless supply of acres and square miles "from sea to shining sea." I'm sure when the first Europeans came over, and all who came after for that matter, they realized they could spread out. There was no end to the space! And remember, there was a time when our own government was GIVING AWAY homesteads put in the untamed open prairies. Giving it away, there was so much of it. All of this, including the space we still have, created a mindset of spreading out.

When I lived in Germany with my first husband in the late 1970s, I was amazed at how small the few houses were and their rooms and especially their lots, how many people lived in apartments instead of houses, and how every inch of space was put to use. Closets were taxed as rooms, so there were no closets in bedrooms -- you had to buy huge cabinets for your clothes. Kitchens were miniscule in the apartments we lived in, as were the refrigerators. But then, Europeans shop frequenlty for their food. As for saving and utilizing all available space, imagine a cabbage patch in a cloverleaf of the autobahn! Gas stations were tiny, difficult for many of the American cars the US service members and civilian employees shipped over to fit into. And the only dirty cars you saw on the road were American's cars since Germans washed theirs frequently, about weekly, and in a single bucket of water somehow. And things are so compact, comparatively speaking, that visiting another country is like visiting a neighboring state here.

[MrMickeysMom]

12. Ever notice new neighborhoods are a neighborhood of houses?

I like my 960 sq foot home, which as I find, is pretty much the average in the UK. Also, my neighborhood is one of lots that have trees through them, down behind and in corners. Some of the new "plans" are boxes ... big boxes... and they all look the same... little trees trying to frame around their big box asses.

[Remember Me]

13. If you've ever been to Europe, you realize

how little land they have, how little there is to go around.

We, on the other hand, have an almost endless supply of acres and square miles "from sea to shining sea." I'm sure when the first Europeans came over, and all who came after for that matter, they realized they could spread out. There was no end to the space! And remember, there was a time when our own government was GIVING AWAY homesteads put in the untamed open prairies. Giving it away, there was so much of it. All of this, including the space we still have, created a mindset of spreading out.

When I lived in Germany with my first husband in the late 1970s, I was amazed at how small the few houses were and their rooms and especially their lots, how many people lived in apartments instead of houses, and how every inch of space was put to use. Closets were taxed as rooms, so there were no closets in bedrooms -- you had to buy huge cabinets for your clothes. Kitchens were miniscule in the apartments we lived in, as were the refrigerators. But then, Europeans shop frequenlty for their food. As for saving and utilizing all available space, imagine a cabbage patch in a cloverleaf of the autobahn! Gas stations were tiny, difficult for many of the American cars the US service members and civilian employees shipped over to fit into. And the only dirty cars you saw on the road were American's cars since Germans washed theirs frequently, about weekly, and in a single bucket of water somehow. And things are so compact, comparatively speaking, that visiting another country is like visiting a neighboring state here.

[Terry in Austin]

15. What's going to be fun... not

Soon enough, all those homeowners are going to find out what a job heating and cooling those barns is going to be.

No envy there!

[One_Life_To_Give]

18. Food for thought

Land area per 1000 people

Australia 362.6 km^2
US 30.1 km^2
Ireland 16.6 km^2
Spain 12.3 km^2
France 8.9 km^2
Denmark 7.7 km^2
UK 3.9 km^2

[txlibdem]

23. Germany is pretty densely populated

Germany 4.36 km^2 per 1000 people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany
Area
- Total 357,021 km2 (63rd)
137,847 sq mi
- Water (%) 2.416
Population
- 2010 estimate 81,799,600<1> (15th)
- Density 229/km2 (55th)
593/sq mi