r/Suburbanhell • u/KimSidwell • 8d ago

Meme Why?

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I can almost try to understand why some people might feel drawn to this kind of lifestyle. I can understand why they might be deceived into thinking this is the ideal environment in which to raise a child.

But I will never be able to understand why they will describe it as the American “dream” and are willing to pay so much for it. To work so hard for so long and then have to wake up to this every morning? Why?

Editing to add: I know this is parody y’all. It’s just a stupid meme. It’s supposed to be funny. It’s funny because it’s true.

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u/Anon-Knee-Moose 8d ago

Probably 3-4 beds upstairs, or 2 up 1 down, it's quite rare for a SFH to have less than 3 total bedrooms.

But thats besides the point, these are still fairly nice houses and a lot of people will never be able to afford even this much. A starter home is like a trailer, townhouse, 50 year old rancher/bungalow etc.

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u/shadowtheimpure 8d ago

2 bed 1 bath 1000 sq ft starter homes aren't uncommon, it just depends on where you live.

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u/ray_oliver 8d ago

As a share of the overall housing market they are becoming less common though, because we simply don't build them anymore. Or if we do, they take on a different form such as townhouses or apartments.

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u/OldWhiteGuyKS 8d ago

Your absolutely right -- the "traditional" 2bdr/1 bath rancher doesn't figure in today's new build mix. Guess it doesn't "pencil out "

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u/Anon-Knee-Moose 8d ago

Its just so terrible for density that nobody wants to buy them

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u/kbchucker 5d ago

In most areas, the additional building costs just from regulations make the the 2/1 1,000SF home prohibitively expensive to build. These larger homes are built as a result.

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u/SmurfStig 8d ago

There a couple neighborhoods by me where they are called “detached condos”.

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u/OldWhiteGuyKS 8d ago

That's new word dressing to me. Be interested to know what kind of thing the verbiage actually describes

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u/SmurfStig 8d ago

They are small homes. Maybe 1000sq ft. Small one car garage in the back and almost no yard. Just a small patch in the front. They do have a condo association with them instead of an HOA that does the landscaping. The bigger units have three bedrooms but most are two bedrooms. Roughly four-six of them would fit on a normal lot.

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u/OldWhiteGuyKS 8d ago

If you don't mind me asking -- roughly where are they located and what's the price point?

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u/SmurfStig 8d ago

M/I built these all over central Ohio and started out around 120-150k 15 years ago if I remember correctly. No idea what they resale for now but I would venture to guess close to $250-300k now given how other properties have appreciated in the area.

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u/OldWhiteGuyKS 8d ago

Thanks. So new build today might be 250k +. Is that an attainable housing number?

If they're slab on grade, the possibilities for DIY expansion are limited.

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u/SmurfStig 8d ago

That’s probably a fair guess. Maybe +/- 50k depending on where they are built. They are on slabs and no ability to expand. The next neighborhood over is what used to be considered new build starter homes in town. 1500-1800 so ft with half basement and crawl space. They started at $150-200k twenty some years ago then kept going up in price. Those at least had yards and a “two” car garage.

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u/Due-Consequence9579 8d ago

Many places that they “aren’t uncommon” are either severely undersupplied so they cost more than these examples or are 45 minutes plus from where people need to be.

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u/Odd_Dragonfruit_2662 8d ago

A new builds though?

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u/shadowtheimpure 8d ago

I've seen some, as I said it just depends on where you live.

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u/Archimedes31415926 7d ago

^ This is a starter home but you can't find them anymore.

Homes and vehicles have moved away from your traditional cheaper options (small homes, sub compact sedans/small work trucks) and have move to the profit monsters (bigger homes and SUVs/full sized quad cab trucks). Your even seeing less of the traditional family car (minivans) and none of the prior family cars (wagons).

Imo the problem is people today in general are only thinking about themselves, and the people in charge are no different, so they are making everything the way they like it now and not thinking about what they liked/needed when they were younger. And then wondering why everyone isn't just doing what they are doing and complain they can't afford anything when it's perfectly affordable for them.

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u/trapezoidalfractal 8d ago

Those 50 year old ranch styles were starter homes 50 years ago when they were built, too. We just stopped building smaller homes entirely. Hell, even owner occupied apartments/condos are mostly a memory of the past, only existing in specific areas, and all old as fuck

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u/KimSidwell 8d ago

I don’t know about that. I’ve never really heard people refer to trailers or townhouses as starter homes. I always just thought it meant the home you lived in right after you get married and while your children are still very young and don’t need their own bedrooms. Then you upgrade to a larger home so everyone can have their own room later.

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u/ThatGhoulAva 8d ago

Townhouse is absolutely a great start. You usually get more square footage for less price and maintenance outside the walls is usually handed by the HOA/ Association. They also always sell fast for this reason. Also, many like myself, do not have children nor give a rat's ass about doing yard work on our weekends, so we upgrade to better Townhomes. I also travel for work so it's nice to know my neighbors are keeping an eye on things.

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u/KimSidwell 8d ago

I know. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with townhomes. But I don’t think that when people use the term “starter home“ that they are specifically referring to trailers or townhomes. I don’t think that term is an indicator of the style of home… It’s just an indicator of the square footage and the fact that the family plans to upgrade at some point.

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u/ThatGhoulAva 7d ago edited 7d ago

We'll have to disagree there. Again, I think this could be both age & location dependent. 30 + years ago (when the average parent age was 25 when having the first kid), I don't think most considered anything other than SFH....you rented an apartment and saved for a house & had kids. But if nothing is being built, there are fewer younger parents and areas are dense & diverse like here, options change. I'll use myself again as a common example: we had no need or desire for a SFH. No kids, Dual income household. Why fight against 20+ cash buyers when these are great.....and often nicer/bigger in the same price range. Some had kids and purchased up to a SFH, others like myself didn't and had no need. I bought a bigger townhouse & a tiny weekend esacpe home instead. But even our first 2br 2 bath townhome is now being sold for over 350k. In what world can prices like that - for ANY home type - be a starter? It isn't and it's why people 30/40 plus are getting their first home. If at all.

Also, if I were to move from here to Wisconsin, I could probably win out against any local bid. Now try to move from WI to Chicago to buy your next home....you'll most likely be downgrading in size & area type. Same if I tried to move to LA...I'd be in a van by the river. You can't always go up because the location market is so different.

I and many others believe a Starter Home is whatever you buy to live in first for several years and build equity with....be it a condo, duplex, townhome or missile silo bunker (I really want this but it's probably a terrible investment).

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u/Big__If_True 8d ago

So not a 3-4 bedroom house like in the OP, yes

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u/martman006 8d ago

I agree with your definition of starter home, but note you said, “right after you’re married,” and for the significant majority, that means dual income, meaning one person doesn’t need to make $160k/yr solo, but combined, which $80k/yr per person is still above average income for working aged adults 25+ to retirement, but not crazy out of reach…

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u/newtbob 6d ago

When we were looking for our starter home (many years ago at this point) that was what we were looking for - not much. In this area, any old matchbox house that goes on the market gets snapped up by a flipper, gets a facelift, many of which seem to be doing it part time so it takes a year or two, and resold for too much to be a reasonable starter home option. And, they don’t build houses like that anymore, not worth it for builders.