Why don't they build homes like they used to anymore?
Date: November 27, 2015 10:45AM
Note that I am not looking for houses or whatever, it's just that I'm fascinated by suburban developments.
For the last fifteen years, new single-family homes have pretty much been the same idea: 3,000+ square foot two-story home with a two-car garage, stair foyer, multiple bedrooms, elegant living rooms/kitchens/dining rooms, expansive basements, and other luxury features. Don't also forget to throw in faux-colonial/fancy outside elements, (rather bland) siding across the three sides of the house, and group that together with other mass-produced homes like these about 8 feet apart from each other with little to no backyard or trees, in a(n unoriginal) subdivision with those darned HOAs. Adjust the place and lot size and you get homes almost exactly like these, but at a million a piece.
Compare that to homes built in the past. Even if they are inadequate these days without remodels/expansions and might have looked all the same at one point, at least they were well-done and came in a variety of models and flavors. I might have forgot to mention this, but it's clear that a lot of these McMansions don't look architecturally sound and contain everything from Walmart.
Back in the 40s-60s, ramblers/ranches and Cape Cods dominated the Northern Virginia housing scene. They could have been a lot like our modern day homes here, but you know, the charm. Soon, communities like Kings Park and Dale City down in PWC (while not perfect these days) added what makes them stand out with unique models and neighborhoods to remember.
The later 60s and the 1970s, split-level homes and early 2-story ones were all the rage around here. Not a bad time, we still had dozens of regional-based builders who knew what they were doing and knew how to perfect things. Later on, we saw barn-roofs and more two story houses appear. We still had some communities (KPW, more of Dale City) trail behind with their proven designs. Yes, this was a turning point, but new homes were still fine. 80s and 90s, still same thing, more or less, but they became more boxy and evolved into what we have today.
So, what happened to homes being built recently? Is it because the developers got turbo-greedy and wanted to do nothing but reap in profit? Is it because they are using the same-size lots, they just got bigger to fit in more stuff? Sorry for my little tangent here and all, but developers are just way too lazy and un-innovative these days.