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Reconsidering the McMansion Business

Posted by: Tim Halbur

15 November 2009 - 11:00am

Builders John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods, hit hard by the downturn, is meeting consumer price points by creating compact home designs instead of the 4,700 sq. ft. homes that were their bread and butter.

Square footage isn't the only victim of cutbacks- high-end furnishings and materials are also being reconsidered.

From The Wall St. Journal:

"As they draw up blueprints for the house of the post-recession future, builders are struggling to distinguish among what home buyers need, what they want and what they can live without -- Jacuzzi by Jacuzzi, butler's pantry by butler's pantry."

Full Story: Builders Downsize the Dream Home
Source: The Wall St. Journal, November 13, 2009
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Smaller is better, but they're still mass produced

Submitted by HRPlanner on Mon, 11/16/2009 - 09:26.

Smaller homes are preferable from an affordability and environmental standpoint. However, the root problem of mass produced housing and the problems associated with it (overdevelopment, loss of farmland, poor quality building etc) is not resolved just by making the home smaller.

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