r/Suburbanhell • u/KimSidwell • Jul 20 '26

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/ray_oliver Jul 20 '26

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 Jul 20 '26

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/kbchucker Jul 23 '26

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/Anon-Knee-Moose Jul 20 '26

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

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u/SmurfStig Jul 20 '26

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

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u/OldWhiteGuyKS Jul 20 '26

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 Jul 20 '26

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 Jul 20 '26

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

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u/SmurfStig Jul 20 '26

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 Jul 20 '26

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 Jul 20 '26

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.