Goodbye McMansions

January 12th, 2009 by Mike Knutson

According to CBS News Sunday Morning, Americans are recognizing that higher construction and energy costs make living in larger homes less desirable. Citing statistics from the National Association of Homebuilders, they claim the average size of new homes has shrunk 194 square feet in the last three months alone. And that trend will most likely continue into 2009.

But what does that mean for our rural communities?

During the age of “McMansionism” it was popular for the more affluent to build homes in new developments on the edge of town or on small acreages just outside town. With stagnant population growth the norm in many rural communities, this left the older and usually smaller houses in the core of the communities to decay. Sort of like urban decay, just on a micro scale.

To me, the move towards smaller, less expensive homes is another reason to advocate for “Purchase, Rehab, Resell“ programs. If renovated with energy efficiency in mind, these older houses will serve as excellent opportunity for families to get into quality homes at lower prices.

But those opportunities are non-existent if the houses look like rundown, old homes. So then the question becomes if not Purchase, Rehab, Resell, then what? Perhaps this should be a part of the Economic Stimulus Plan that seems to be leaving rural places behind.

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