Recently, our city newspaper has been running all sorts of news stories about homeowners who are facing tough times because of their mortgage payments. Many families took advantage of the housing boom and bought big, taking out variable rate or interest only mortgages that are now about to change, increasing the mortgage payments far beyond what the homeowners may be able to pay. And they are panicking.
While family size is decreasing in general, the size of houses are actually increasing. McMansions, one of my friends calls these places, seemingly complete with enough square footage to shelter several families.
We recently moved from a home that was approximately 1,600 square feet to one that it almost 2,300 square feet. Even with three very active kids, it still seems a bit large to me. I feel a bit guilty for having all of this space–couldn’t we get by with less and be more frugal. My neighbors might think that these thoughts are very strange, since 2,300 square feet hardly qualifies for a condo in new construction, as my clever husband points out.
I wonder why houses have become so large. It is for status? Certainly some people seem to recognize others by design of their house rather than the cut of their character. Are the houses getting larger to accommodate all of our stuff? There is a whole industry out there devoted to clutter control. Or have we just defined a new normal for housing?
I think back to my husband’s parents who raised four children in a smallish three bedroom ranch house. Or even back further to my own grandparents, whose seven children pitter pattered through an even smaller New York City railroad apartment. And yet, in their day and time, this was all seen as perfectly normal.
Can the people who own today’s McMansions really afford them, or are so many home-owners overextending their mortgages? With larger houses come larger utilities, larger taxes, larger insurance bills and larger maintenance costs.
What do you think?
Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Computing Blog here at Families.com where she shares everything from the latest news on technology to cool downloads and fun websites.
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