From MSNBC:They've been called McMansions, Starter Castles, Garage Mahals and Faux Chateaus but here's the latest thing you can call them - History.
In the past few years, there have been an increasing number of references made to the "McMansion glut" and the "McMansion backlash," as more towns pass ordinances against garishly large homes, which are generally over 3,000 square feet and built very close together.
What sets a McMansion apart from a regular mansion, according to Wikipedia, are a few characteristics: They're tacky, they lack a definitive style and they have a "displeasingly jumbled appearance."
Well, count 2010 as the year the last nail was hammered into the McCoffin: In its latest report on home-buying trends, real-estate site Trulia declares: "The McMansion Era Is Over."
Just 9 percent of the people surveyed by Trulia said their ideal home size was over 3,200 square feet. Meanwhile, more than one-third said their ideal size was under 2,000 feet.
"That's something that would've been unbelievable just a few years back," said Pete Flint, CEO and co-founder of Trulia. "Americans are moving away from McMansions."
19 comments:
"They're tacky, they lack a definitive style and they have a "displeasingly jumbled appearance."
And they are ridiculously large, obstruct views and create parking problems for current residents.
Dont just focus on aesthetic issues.
Hey listen. They beat Archie Bunkers with illegals in the basement.
gluttonous pieces of crap
and the idiots probably have garages full of consumer crap they
do not use
park thier 6 cars on the street and rent storage units as well
hope they choke on utility bills
Ostentation at its worst funded by mortgaging the Archie house to the hilt to build what they can't afford now that the bubble has burst.
They're not in any way disappearing in Forest Hills. Every block near Jewel and the GCP has at least 3 or 4 "Russian Embassies.
They're ridiculously large and ostentatious but they sure beat the hell out of the crap the Asians and Italians are building in Northern Flooshing!
They may not be as popular today as they were yesterday, but the assholes who like them will make them all the rage once again in the not-too-distant future.
These buildings are sometimes rented illegally as hotels. I personally saw one advertised online years ago. And it had a disco ball for a chandelier.
And how do you like those concrete elephants?
I suppose "McMansion" is a lot like pornography - you can't define it precisely, but you know what it is when you see it.
"McMansions" are not my cup of tea either, but as far as I know, there's no law mandating taste in architecture. Perhaps we should require home buyers to read Vitruvius and Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture first before buying a home?
Nor is there any law mandating that voters pass an intelligence test, which is unfortunate, because they continually vote for idiots.
Don't blame me - I didn't vote for the current idiot POTUS, and I didn't vote for that other idiot either.
With love,
Deke DaSilva
Architecture enthusiast
Currently not residing in a McMansion
Not interested in politicians
Quick, someone tell the Bukharians!
Thanks to the uh...more positive....aspects of the recession we're in....they're receding!
They cost too much to heat & cool.
i.e.
It costs approximately four times the money to cool a space than to heat it.
Ah....and those real estate taxes!
Bhukarians?
They make the most low class Russian look civilized!
Just a few years before they installed themselves in their "palaces" they were likely herding (or screwing) goats of sheep in the steppes.
Goats look better than some Bhukarian women that might offer themselves for pleasure.
Too bad Forest Hills has been ruined by this cancer. Some of those buildings are downright SCARY. Circular drives and fountains in Queens, who ya kiddin?
Just a few years before they installed themselves in their "palaces" they were likely herding (or screwing) goats of sheep in the steppes.
-----------------------------
Its uncivilized "new money"
When they were out herding, they tripped into an oil puddle and struck it rich. Either that, or they got themselves into the Jewish diamond trade. 99% profit in there.
The McMansion Era may be over, but now two family monstrosities are still going up all over Little Neck and beyond.
Most of them are so ugly.
Bungalows are the best. Cozy, and easy to maintain.
McMansions are over? When are the Fedder houses going out of style?
I moved to Forest Hills from South Ozone Park years ago. And I think the Bukharian McMansions are far less offensive and ugly than the Guyanese McMansions, which are also illegal conversions.
It's amazing that third world people can come to this city and buy a million dollar house and put up a three million dollar house in its place, destroying the heritage of our city and not pay ANY taxes because everything is paid for by cash.
And my two family home real estate taxes and Con Ed bills go up EVERY year to pay for this glut!
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