Comments on: A Home Is Like A Tomato http://www.thinkdwell.com/blog/a-home-is-like-a-tomato/ A Green Blog Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:32:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Builder http://www.thinkdwell.com/blog/a-home-is-like-a-tomato/#comment-6464 Builder Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:35:52 +0000 http://www.thinkdwell.com/blog/?p=301#comment-6464 I second Dennis'es assertion that todays homes (at least most of those in the mass construction sector) do not reflect their main intended purpose - a comfortable living. They are designed to be first and foremost profitable for the building construction company. They are several times the size that would provide comfortable living conditions to the regular family because larges size can command higher price and since practically no one pays for the home out of pocket, the pain of paying too much for unneeded space is delayed by the mortgage term. The result - a huge drafty home made practically of cardboard with immense amount of wasted corridor and basement space that is very expensive to heat or cool and that looks pretentious yet still kind of cheesy. I really don't see any way the building industry can correct itself into building better, more comfortable and energy efficient homes. As long as market incentives are driving home sizes up, they will grow. The government will have to step up and use VERY unpopular tax measures on either the building construction side of the business or on the home owner side to penalize for overblown house size. You know, it is a really tough time to be a believer into the free market enterprise spirit these days. it just does not seem to be too many markets able to correct themselves. Banks driving themselves into defaults, building construction industry that does not know when to stop, auto manufacturers making larger cars when the demand shifts into smaller - there is just no end to the samples of businesses NOT knowing what's best for them. Peace! I second Dennis’es assertion that todays homes (at least most of those in the mass construction sector) do not reflect their main intended purpose - a comfortable living. They are designed to be first and foremost profitable for the building construction company. They are several times the size that would provide comfortable living conditions to the regular family because larges size can command higher price and since practically no one pays for the home out of pocket, the pain of paying too much for unneeded space is delayed by the mortgage term. The result - a huge drafty home made practically of cardboard with immense amount of wasted corridor and basement space that is very expensive to heat or cool and that looks pretentious yet still kind of cheesy.

I really don’t see any way the building industry can correct itself into building better, more comfortable and energy efficient homes. As long as market incentives are driving home sizes up, they will grow. The government will have to step up and use VERY unpopular tax measures on either the building construction side of the business or on the home owner side to penalize for overblown house size.

You know, it is a really tough time to be a believer into the free market enterprise spirit these days. it just does not seem to be too many markets able to correct themselves. Banks driving themselves into defaults, building construction industry that does not know when to stop, auto manufacturers making larger cars when the demand shifts into smaller - there is just no end to the samples of businesses NOT knowing what’s best for them.

Peace!

]]> By: Dennis http://www.thinkdwell.com/blog/a-home-is-like-a-tomato/#comment-2009 Dennis Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:30:27 +0000 http://www.thinkdwell.com/blog/?p=301#comment-2009 Tax law, business financing and land costs continue to be motivators for increased house size in my realm of experience. I live in a region with high-income families who take on larger mortgages (larger houses) for the larger interest deduction, business owners who were advised by their banks to buy larger homes in order to build more home equity to use as collateral to finance business expansion. Further, higher land costs encourage construction of more costly (larger) homes proportional to the value of the lot. The economics of a modest home on an expensive lot don't work. The drop in home values has temporarily stifled some of this motivation, but this may be a good time for another discussion about limitations on the mortgage deduction, as an economic motivator to build smaller more efficient homes proportional to the need. Dennis Tax law, business financing and land costs continue to be motivators for increased house size in my realm of experience.

I live in a region with high-income families who take on larger mortgages (larger houses) for the larger interest deduction, business owners who were advised by their banks to buy larger homes in order to build more home equity to use as collateral to finance business expansion. Further, higher land costs encourage construction of more costly (larger) homes proportional to the value of the lot. The economics of a modest home on an expensive lot don’t work.

The drop in home values has temporarily stifled some of this motivation, but this may be a good time for another discussion about limitations on the mortgage deduction, as an economic motivator to build smaller more efficient homes proportional to the need.

Dennis

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