Do people not care about having a big yard or is it a matter of squeezing as many houses on a piece of land as possible?

I’ve noticed newer subdivisions in my area have tiny yards- almost spitting distance between houses. I don’t have a lot of land by any means but I couldn’t stand being that close to someone else. On one in particular a brand new $450,000 house is being built maybe 15 feet from the back property line. I guess kids don’t needs yards anymore?

There are a lot of new neighborhoods in my area like that. The houses all look the same too. I would be afraid of walking into the wrong house!

We're on 3 acres with the closest house being 125 yards away. I can't imagine living just a few feet away from another house. I guess that explains why we've lived here for 35 years.

Jim

When I was working as a homebuilder in Orlando, there was only 10' between homes, didn't matter how big or expensive the home was. That's what you got with a mass builder. Only 5' of that belonged to you. Some of the designs were so that the balcony or patio door opened on the side and you were merely 10' away from your neighbors wall. We used to joke you could talk to your neighbor without leaving your house or having to raise your voice.

The builders are trying to stuff as many lots on a piece of land as possible.

land prices

if I can put a modest size home on 1/3 - 1/2 acre and was just able o purchase a section/square mile/640 acres for a great price and reasonably close to a city's infrastructure (skools, emergency, stores, etc), why would I place the homes on acre plots when I can increase my profits 25% - 75% by building 2x to 3x the number of homes?

With the influx of slickers fleeing the larger urban areas - they don't care if they live on 1/8 acre. Developers and Contractors love these folks and know they will pay top $ for a home where their neighbor can read the business cards on their refrigerator through their kitchen windows.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:
We're on 3 acres with the closest house being 125 yards away. I can't imagine living just a few feet away from another house. I guess that explains why we've lived here for 35 years.

Jim

I have the exact same situation. A square, three acre lot with my home right in the center. I have to want to see my neighbors to see them. I would never move to a more congested neighborhood.

Beyond developers maximizing their dollars, a lot of folks don’t want much yard. I know plenty of folks that don’t want to be troubled with yard work or the idea of having to irrigate a lawn. Not that most would have any idea how to care for a lawn to begin with.

quote:

Originally posted by G-Man:

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:
We're on 3 acres with the closest house being 125 yards away. I can't imagine living just a few feet away from another house. I guess that explains why we've lived here for 35 years.

Jim

TBH - I am currently on 1/3 of an acre and actively looking for a company position where I can be on 15 - 40 acres which also has access to high speed cable.

I have the exact same situation. A square, three acre lot with my home right in the center. I have to want to see my neighbors to see them. I would never move to a more congested neighborhood.

Our primary in town home is built on a lot and a half and is the last house on a dead end road bordering the woods. We have one neighbor we seldom see but are friendly with. The other neighbor is completely blocked by a huge lilac bush and a line of trees.

Our lake place is 3 acres with the closest place about 150 yards away and those folks are rarely there. I could never survive living as close to someone as what some of you are describing.

It seems like new properties in the Los Angeles area are built to maximize interior square footage by utilizing most of the property. I follow a couple of YouTube channels that primarily feature expensive/luxury homes and there are quite a few where the interior square footage is only a couple thousand less than the acreage.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
With the influx of slickers fleeing the larger urban areas - they don't care if they live on 1/8 acre. Developers and Contractors love these folks and know they will pay top $ for a home where their neighbor can read the business cards on their refrigerator through their kitchen windows.

Those people you mentioned have never experienced or known open spaces, and treasured it .

People keep having kids. They have to live somewhere.

quote:

Originally posted by Sunset_Va:

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
With the influx of slickers fleeing the larger urban areas - they don't care if they live on 1/8 acre. Developers and Contractors love these folks and know they will pay top $ for a home where their neighbor can read the business cards on their refrigerator through their kitchen windows.

Those people you mentioned have never experienced or known open spaces, and treasured it .

And they don't like it when street lights are 1/2 a mile apart - or non existent.

Our first house was 2200 sq ft on .10 acre
Close neighbors, but we made good friends there, no one had much of a back yard, so we were always out front.

Current house is on 1/3 acre, most people have a larger back yard and most a pool. Don't see the neighbors outside very much.

Sometimes you just have to cope. Grew up 1/2 mile from the next neighbor. Now I live 80' from the new neighbor (far worse than the last neighbor) Now we are worried about selling our house. You can't choose who is going to buy the house next to you!!

One of the things I don’t like about tiny lots is the house designs. They all pull the garage to the front of the house and they are like 20’x 20’. The garage even being tiny looks like half the house and they look terrible. Then the driveways are so short people park in the street because if they can get a car in the garage they can’t get by a car parked in the driveway so the street becomes packed with cars.

I have always thought it is more about taxes. The more house value, the more taxes for the city.
Cities love taxes.

When I lived in LA we had neighbors on each side the width of a single lane driveway apart. Maybe 15 feet from wall to wall. Now I live in the semi-country on an acre lot and my neighbors are 50+ yards away on one side and about a quarter mile on the other side. Behind me is a farm and it's a mile to the nearest house. Doesn't really feel much different because in both cases we have the kind of neighborhood where people live and let live and really don't get into anyone else's business. What I really could not deal with is an HOA type situation where everyone is uptight.

This has been going on for years. My nephew recently bought a house in San Antonio that was built in the 1980s and it’s in a neighborhood that’s all two story houses built 15-20’ apart. A little too much neighborliness for me.