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Friday, 27 March 2020
quote [ The American obsession with large homes—a matter of culture, policy, and economics—restricts smaller, more affordable options. ]
Supply chains become brittle but going back to decent is surprisingly hard, it seems.
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avid said @ 7:56pm GMT on 28th March
The tiny house thing is taking the missing feature of current houses (reasonable size) and making it an entire product, much like the iPod Shuffle was the missing feature of the original shuffle-less iPod. It's the kind of thing that can only exist until a more mainstream product incorporates the feature.
In Seattle (east side for me), it's impossible to find new houses that aren't 3+ bedroom, and the old craftsman-style ones are either horrible distressed and being sat on by someone that wants top-dollar, or get sold by the grandkids to a developer for $300k. That developer adds a coat of paint, some knocked down walls, and a fake "distressed" timber over the open space later and it's "in the low 700's". Condos in the area are $400k (and old*) and have $500/mo. HOA fees, and you can't rent them out.
What I would like to see is something like the clever Hong Kong or Tokyo apartments that have movable walls and hideaway beds, just at 2x scale. Something that makes really great use of 800 sq. ft.
* Apparently the builder has to provide a warranty for condos, and that has been very expensive in the past. One high-rise in Seattle had to redo all the plumbing because of failed plastic welds. Selling it to a corporation to use as apartments doesn't have that risk.
avid said @ 7:57pm GMT on 28th March
The tiny house thing is taking the missing feature of current houses (reasonable size) and making it an entire product, much like the iPod Shuffle was the missing feature of the original shuffle-less iPod. It's the kind of thing that can only exist until a more mainstream product incorporates the feature.
In Seattle (east side for me), it's impossible to find new houses that aren't 3+ bedroom, and the old craftsman-style ones are either horribly distressed and being sat on by someone that wants top-dollar, or get sold by the grandkids to a developer for $300k. That developer adds a coat of paint, some knocked down walls, and a fake "distressed" timber over the open space later and it's "in the low 700's". Condos in the area are $400k (and old*) and have $500/mo. HOA fees, and you can't rent them out.
What I would like to see is something like the clever Hong Kong or Tokyo apartments that have movable walls and hideaway beds, just at 2x scale. Something that makes really great use of 800 sq. ft.
* Apparently the builder has to provide a warranty for condos, and that has been very expensive in the past. One high-rise in Seattle had to redo all the plumbing because of failed plastic welds. Selling it to a corporation to use as apartments doesn't have that risk.
<-- Entry / Current Comment
avid said @ 7:56pm GMT on 28th March
The tiny house thing is taking the missing feature of current houses (reasonable size) and making it an entire product, much like the iPod Shuffle was the missing feature of the original shuffle-less iPod. It's the kind of thing that can only exist until a more mainstream product incorporates the feature.
In Seattle (east side for me), it's impossible to find new houses that aren't 3+ bedroom, and the old craftsman-style ones are either horribly distressed and being sat on by someone that wants top-dollar, or get sold by the grandkids to a developer for $300k. That developer adds a coat of paint, some knocked down walls, and a fake "distressed" timber over the open space later and it's "in the low 700's". Condos in the area are $400k (and old*) and have $500/mo. HOA fees, and you can't rent them out.
What I would like to see is something like the clever Hong Kong or Tokyo apartments that have movable walls and hideaway beds, just at 2x scale. Something that makes really great use of 800 sq. ft.
* Apparently the builder has to provide a warranty for condos, and that has been very expensive in the past. One high-rise in Seattle had to redo all the plumbing because of failed plastic welds. Selling it to a corporation to use as apartments doesn't have that risk.
