Smaller Homes Drive Affordability for First‑time Buyers
The key attribute of “Starter Homes” … is that they are SMALLER It’s how they are able to be more affordable to younger people.
Cities Must Keep Families Affordable, Not Displace Them
“Let’s get you home” -Zillow ad featuring a pregnant woman downtown THIS is the moment The City loses too many families More people should feel it’s possible to have a baby and stay in their neighborhood https://t.co/7Php6x9yQ6
A Beautiful, Heartbreaking Tale of Welsh Immigration
How Green was My Valley is a beautiful (but sad) movie about immigration from Wales to US
Spare Bedrooms Fuel Startup Boom Amid Bigger Homes
Or maybe extra bedrooms Everyone talks about the average home size has increased … lots of businesses, including startups, have been started in spare bedrooms or home offices
Private Houston‑Dallas Flight Costs Far Less than $600
Even a same day flight on a private plane (JSX) from Houston to Dallas isn’t $600 https://t.co/by1JHkEliw
Even $10
$10MM as a top 10 home price in state? In history? That feels really low There are some really nice horse mansion/estates in Charlottesville area.
Own a Home for Less Than a Studio Apartment
Sure it’s not a great house … but it’s less $$ than a Studio apartment To OWN
Lennar's Construction Costs Are Incomprehensibly Low, Deterring Competition
I have ZERO interest in competing with Lennar Their construction costs are incomprehensibly low. https://t.co/VEZx82DrWc
High Prices and Labor‑Intensive Builds Fuel Cost Spiral
And lower construction In coastal cities (and mountain towns) construction costs are higher because housing prices are currently high ... and site-built construction method is labor intensive It's a vicious cycle
Younger Buyers Prefer Smaller Townhouse-Style Homes
This is literally the real estate thesis of @americanhousing ... The way to deliver what these younger Americans want is to build new, nice, and most importantly **smaller** single family product in neighborhoods where they want to live. Like townhouses....
Families Prioritize More Bedrooms Over Bigger Closets
Bedroom count has not increased by the same proportion Babies and kids are about having bedrooms, not just having bigger closets, and kitchen islands
Live in NYC for Under $1300: Ideal for Young Ambitious
For <$1300/month this is perfect for someone 22-24 who wants to live *in* the greatest city in the world New York City is the best place to young, ambitious and adventurous
Modern Homes Default to White, Gray, Stainless
And that, ladies and gentlemen … is why all cabinets are white, all the floors are gray and all the appliances are “stainless”
Oversized 3BRs Inflate Rent; Smaller Units Save Money
The "problem" with modern 3BR apartments is that they are too large Increased size pushes up the rents And then with all the extra space, it ends up getting filled with too many bathrooms and bedrooms that are too larger An urban 3BR...
Prioritize Upzoning for Family Housing Near Schools
I’d like to see “School Oriented Development” … Upzoning to add high quality housing units *specifically* designed for families with kids within a few blocks of elementary schools Urban and suburban
Urban Elite Avoid Kids, Perpetuating Family Service Decline
This is my theory on the fertility decline dynamic among high education/achievement class in cities: Young people move to the the City for school, career, or adventure ... but then after they meet someone, they are reaching the conclusion that having...
Kid‑friendly Homes Need More Bedrooms, Not Square Footage
The key to a house being “kid friendly” is the number of BEDROOMS … more than the unit size It turns out, babies are small
Modern Codes Complicate Classic Rowhome Vestibule Designs
I really want to build rowhomes with vestibules again It’s often very tricky to do now with circulation requirements because they are so much deeper than these historic ones https://t.co/TXWZPcM1m8
Three Kids, 1,275 Sq Ft: Urban Family Success
My wife & I raised all 3 of our kids in this 1275sf apartment on the 22nd floor … until our oldest was 7 years old https://t.co/0T43AEjBvd
Dining Nook Doubles as Perfect Morning Workspace
A dining nook is also a pretty nice spot to get work done in the morning https://t.co/S1ajkohyMb
Austin Expands with Affordable Detached Homes Beyond City Limits
That’s exactly what Austin has done. And continues to do Yes some infill (which developers like @americanhousing are doing) … but a TON of small, inexpensive detached homes outside the City https://t.co/uFSuYKWH2m
Finding High‑Density Housing Americans Actually Want
I wonder what kind of housing type can support that level of density … while being the kind that Americans say they most want? 🤔🤔 https://t.co/mFLKMuevV8
YIMBY vs NIMBY: Nuance Over Simple Labels
What’s the difference between YIMBY but *sometimes* opposes specific housing projects … and NIMBY? -Is it that, on net, “YIMBY” builds more than “NIMBY?” If so, where is the tipping point? -Is it peering into the core to subjectively judge whether they...
Mid-Size Buildings Dominate Studio Unit Share Since 2008
Here’s an interesting fact about apartment building SIZE For buildings built since 2008 ... mid-size buildings (50-150 units) have a great share of Studios, compared to smaller or larger buildings. https://t.co/QC9eXAaoRH
Building Missing‑Middle Starter Homes to Keep Families City‑Bound
The mission of @americanhousing is to build housing in THIS circle Other developers build highrises downtown, midrises in emerging neighborhoods & master planned communities far away We are building “missing middle” starter homes … so families with kids can STAY in the...
Greenfield Builds More Large Apartments than Austin City
The Austin METRO built a ton of housing, not just the City. Yes the City built a lot ... but greenfield did even more. Here's a map of large (250+ unit) apartment buildings built in last 3 years The distribution of single family...
Lab Culture: Marriage Okay, Pregnancy Discouraged During PhD
One of my wife's best friends started a bench science PhD at an ivy league When she got engaged after her first year, her PI took her aside and said, "Getting married while working in my lab is a perfect time...
Ambition and Marriage: You Can Have Both
There is another important way ... which is to speak directly to the MEN who are marriageable Modern ambitious young men often take in the message that Hard Work/Career is something things that comes *before* Marriage and Kids. You do the first,...
You Can Be a Savage Founder and Family Man
The strongest "message" is not anything said ... but seeing what people around you are DOING I got married and started my first company at 24. We had 3 kids by 31. But living downtown, I did not know anyone who...
Median Price Ignores Bedroom Count, Misleads Families
Another example ⬇️⬇️ why price $$ per unit is an incomplete metric Median “home” price does not account for the number of bedrooms … which REALLY matters for families.
Cities Must Keep Young Couples, Not Attract Suburbs
Who wants to raise kids in the City? People who have BABIES in the City. Couples who already live in and love the City. Those who have formed deep roots in the City The City will never convince suburban families to...
Cities Are Pushing Families Out; Housing Must Change
“Families with children often cannot find a suitably sized home ... and are either forced to move to a different part of the city or out of the capital altogether." I've been saying this for a long time And working stem or...
Rowhomes: Affordable Urban Starter Homes with Extra Bedrooms
The thing that makes rowhomes fantastic for families ... the numbers of bedrooms per square foot Rowhomes are affordable, urban, starter homes
Private Buses Poised to Fill Suburban Commute Gap
Seems like an opportunity for private busses. For suburban commuting or city to city travel.
Cybertruck Render Could Sway Upzoning Approval Odds
Related to "beautiful" architecture and upzoning ... I wonder what a Cybertruck in the rendering does to the chances of a project being approved? @CSElmendorf https://t.co/wMHvjMNnfz
Charlotte Studios Surge Fivefold Since Financial Crisis
Over the last half century, the *kind* of apartments we have built has changed Post GFC, developers have shifted towards building more, smaller units In the City of Charlotte (not metro) the SHARE % of new units built as Studios has gone...
Office Conversions Reveal Deep and Shallow Floorplan Duality
Office conversions have some of the most interesting and complicated floorplans They can be both very deep AND very shallow ... in the same building. Here's really cool recent project in Cleveland https://t.co/rFrJ5m06QZ
Townhouses: America’s City‑friendly Homes for Growing Families
I love townhouses. They have filled the neighborhoods of cities in and around downtowns for centuries. And Townhouses are fundamentally an *AMERICAN* housing typology. 🇺🇸 They are smaller, but family oriented housing … so the young people who move in to the...
Cultural Institutions Lost Forever, Not Replaceable by Market
When you lose cultural institutions, it’s not just an efficient market where another use comes in the same Schools, churches, synagogues and parks - once gone - will never come back They’ll be replaced with master planned communities, infill housing or “mixed-use”...
German Renters Often Fund Their Own Kitchens, Investing in Units
Also in Germany ... it's often common for renters to bring/pay for their own kitchens. So "tenants" can have a significant amount of cash investment into the unit
Apartments Built Cheap, Owned Short-Term, Profit-Driven
Because most apartment buildings are financed with short term money Those facade materials are cheap … and the people who BUILD apartments do not OWN buildings long term Buildings are designed as financial products: to maximize rents at stabilization
Americans Trade Long Commutes for Larger New Homes
And this is why DR Horton is able to build and sell 100,000 homes per year Americans want a large new house … and they are willing to trade long commutes for them.
Creative Class Concept Predates 2010, Originated 2002
Rise of the Creative Class by @Richard_Florida was published in 2002 … so it started before 2010
McMansions Trade Quantity for Oversized Bedrooms
Exactly. McMansions often don’t have more bedrooms … just bigger bedrooms, that each have walk-in closets and en-suite bathrooms https://t.co/EjPzvdQTt4
High Rent Targets Force Developers Toward Studios
Any new construction unit needs to be significantly higher Rent/SF than existing homes in the area, or else it won't get built at all The way developers keep Prices down is by building smaller units ... like Studio apartments And it's why...
Doctors Are Underpaid and Forced Into Costly City Living
We *drastically* underpay residents Being a doctor is not only tremendous financial cost, but also practically means you have to delay all family decisions by often being forced to live in the most expensive cities near teaching hospitals The human cost isn’t...
YIMBYs Risk Ugly Upzoning by Ceding Design Standards
At minimum it can be thought of as a pragmatic or political concession to expand upzoned places “YIMBY” already frequently makes broad concessions on Rent Control, Union Labor and tenant “protection” requirements … aesthetics is not bridge too far Especially when the...
Use Material Standards and Design Books to Ensure Aesthetic Development
I think the most reasonable way to balance aesthetic standards and certainty for development is with materials requirements and/or "books" of pre-approved designs In areas with sufficiently high land values you can require masonry, stone, metal etc. https://t.co/8i2aoIeE1X
Affirmative Action Lacks Clear Ethnic Verification Standards
On affirmative action, the questions no one will touch are: “Who counts as Ethnic Group” “Who gets to be the arbiter" Do students provide their own ethnic report every school must use, or do college order their own independent one? Such a process would...
A Family‑Friendly City Means Strollers as Common as Dogs
What does it **look** like for a City to be family friendly? “In the City, I want there to be so many babies, so many strollers … that it is as common for you to see a stroller as it is...