It is all a matter of taste. Some very nice people called me up and I met them over at Maybeck not long ago. They were going to put an offer down and they tried to negotiate with the sales staff but the salespeople were pretty intractable. The home appeared pretty nice inside. Personally I am a big yard type of guy so I am not really into any of the 4s stuff. Again though it is a matter of taste.

SD Realtor

Personally, I love houses with big yard, so these alley homes are definitely not my style. They’re no more than a large condo/townhouse in my eyes.

There’s a big movement among the architects and planners right now to get away from the “snout houses” that we’ve been building for the last 40 years. The snout being the garage. Apparently the planners are trying to get back to the walking neighborhoods where people sit on their porches and hang out with their neighbors. The snout house supposedly detracts from the walking neighborhoods because the garage and driveway are part of the front “elevation” and people tend to drive directly into their garages and shut the door behind them before they exit their cars.

Landscaping and its demands on the water supply are also a part of it. The whole idea behind “smart growth” planning is to concentrate the residential areas onto smaller lots and include services within the neighborhoods so as to minimize the time people spend driving around and contributing to traffic. The environmentalists hate 20,000 SqFt subdivision lots and 10 minute drives to the nearest elementary school.

These so-called “alley” subdivisions aren’t really any more efficient in terms of land use because the alley cuts into what your rear yard area would normally be. It does prevent people from parking 4 cars on their front lawn, though. It is about the only way you’re going to get the “picket fence” effect in a neighborhood.

The other “good” thing about the alley house design is that it enables a nice front elevation even if the lot is relatively narrow. A 50ft wide lot still enables a house with a 40ft wide front elevation – no garage to spoil the effect of the big house.

I hate it when people use their garages for storage or living or workshop and not for parking. A garage door should be kept shut when not using it for ingress or egress. The last thing you want to see is shabby unattractive homeowners loitering in their garages with the door open. HOAs should really enforce the closed garage door CC&Rs. Neighborhoods littered with cars are quite ugly.

Yes, the alley homes have nicer front elevations.

I am seriously considering an alley home in Temecula (Wolf Creek, Woodside’s Hawthorne). The only issue is that this style isn’t as marketable for resale. I am a unique buyer and I realize that when I go to sell, the majority of the market isn’t looking for what I want, so it complicates the decision. I want over 2000 sq ft, detached, no yard other than enough for a BBQ, maybe a jacuzzi at most, not a blade of grass that I have to deal with, assoc. maintained front yard, 2 car gar minimum, no wood fencing (vinyl or brick). The alley home gives me all that, backyard is gone, small side courtyard is enough, condo like maintenance in a detach that is big enough. Problem is, I may be the only one looking for that and even though I plan to stay in the next house 10+ years, the majority of buyers in a family neighborhood will be shopping for a traditional lot. A divorced guy with teenagers half of the time, living in a bedroom community isn’t that big of a market.

temeculaguy, i think that your buying requirements is a trend. More and more buyers don’t want the maintenance of a yard. The trend is to integrate outdoor low maintenance courtyards with the indoor living space. In my view, 10 to 20 years from now, this type of housing will comprise the majority of new SFR building.

We have a driveway more than big enough for the two cars, so the garage is merely extra living space. This is where my power rack and weight set goes. A power rack allows for benching and squatting without spotters.

Also there is a TV out there with a PS2 hooked up for Guitar Hero. Not much room besides all this. There is also a computer with a subwoofer speaking hookup, as well as guitar and amp. My tiny little house is 1030 Sq. foot with two kids, coming from 2400 Sq feet plus a 1200 sq foot basement in Ohio. We got rid of a lot but not everything.