The mcmansion frenzy and subsequent backlash has hit a feverish pace, not only in Los Angeles but across the country. The supersized homes are eating up space, taxing resources and corrupting the character of some older neighborhoods from coast to coast. Communities are trying to cope with complaints from upset residents, while working to put together new guidelines to manage the growth.
Yet, said [said Steve Melman, director of economic services for the National Association of Home Builders], there's plenty of people who apparently still want houses of 4,000 square feet and larger. Drawing an analogy, he said, "I think a lot of people still want that -- they still want the SUVs even though the price of gasoline went up." (The U.S. Census' survey of Construction reported that 0.5% of new homes constructed in 2004 and 2005 were 6,000 square feet or larger -- that might not seem like much, but that's still 10,000 homes.)We'll continue to do our part to collect evidence of the horrible mcmansion infestation for use in future court cases.Yet the backlash, too, is just getting started, say observers. "You're going to see a lot more of this," said Lang -- especially in places like southern California and Florida that have all but run out of virgin land to build on, and where builders are eyeing older suburbs. "By 2020, this could be some nasty stuff; something could probably make its way to the Supreme Court."
· The swelling McMansion backlash [MSN Real Estate via Archinect]