McMansion Buyers Are The New Middle Class

"Excess is just part of the lifestyle in places such as Braemar Estates, Beverly Ridge Estates, Royal Oaks Colony and Lake Sherwood Country Club—tracts where these mega-houses elicit the image of wealth and exclusivity in groupings of between 30 and 350 homes. Tony Truisi, an Encino real estate agent specializing in what he calls 'upper high-end' homes, says 'there's a big market in this part of L.A. -- houses running between $1 million and $3 million—that's a hot market right now. And that's unbelievable to say, huh?' Actually, yes. But so-called mcmansion communities are rising all over Southern California and elsewhere in the country even as the economy grows less and less certain. According to the California Assn. of Realtors, the number of homes in California that sold for more than $1 million rose 46% between 2001 and 2002.... Beyond building codes, there's another backlash in the works—a quiet, sensible notion that a monster house has few of the qualities one expects in a sanctuary. Beauty isn't found in a bloated house, this movement's proponents suggest. Twenty-five-foot-high ceilings do not necessarily make you happy."

Thanks to Karla Reinhardt