[quote=bearishgurl]CAR, I agree with you that most young families today think they need more space. They often have 3+ vehicles and way more “stuff” than families in previous generations had.
But I don’t see families today buying the bigger lots. They currently seem to be shunning the bigger lots and purchasing the substandard =<5000 sf lot or the PUD on a zero lot line. At least that is what is happening in South County. If I had a dime for every Pigg here who has inquired about CV (92130), I would also say this is happening in other parts of the county as well. The "quintessential 3-vehicle young family" just seems content to leave one vehicle on the street and park their other two in their short driveway hanging out into (or beyond) the sidewalk. Their garage is used for storage of "stuff."
HOWEVER, I don't agree with you that families HAVE to choose the 'burbs or far-flung "urban sprawl" in order to obtain a large lot. There are many 10,000-20,000+ SF lots in urban San Diego (<20 mi. from dtn) in nearly every zip code: 92101, 92102, 92103, 92104, 92106, 92107, 92109 (few), 92111 (few), 92113, 92114, 92115, 92116 (few), 92117 (few), 92118 (Cor), 92119, 92120, 92122, 92139, 92154 (few) and 92037. In addition, NC 91950 (4-8 mi. away) has many large lots 1 AC+. Chula Vista 10-13 miles away (91910 and 91911) have many large lots (91910 up to 4 AC). Bonita 91902 (12-16 mi) has many 1/2 AC+ lots and a few 1-4 AC lots. La Mesa 91941 (13-16 mi.) has many 1/2 AC+ lots. Lemon Grove 91945 (10-12 mi.) has many 12,000 – 20,000+ lots.
Going 20-25 miles out from dtn SD (“suburbia”) opens up a few more “large lot” possibilities to the east and northeast.
There seems to be a HUGE misconception out there as many of these areas now seem to be so “undesirable” to a lot of young families that they never even bothered to explore them when they were house-hunting. In my day, these areas were HIGHLY DESIRABLE (yes, even 92113 and 92114 to dtn. workers). Hence, the current “urban defectors” now have 20-40 year bonds (and in the majority of cases, HOA dues) to pay for the entire length of their homeownership because of their choices to buy properties towards, into or beyond the “urban sprawl.” And have no lot with which to park their vehicles and “stuff” on for all the extra fees and taxes they are paying.
Perhaps young families today feel some of the communities heretofore mentioned are too “cost prohibitive” to buy into for the living space they think they need. Piggs, you gotta ask yourselves, “Why is this so?”
As I’ve stated before, a “square-footage” problem can always be fixed but a (tiny) lot (purchased out in BFE) cannot :={[/quote]
Hi BG, just out of curiosity, what age bracket are you in? My wife and I in our late 30s with a young child. I’ll take a stab at why some piggs (namely me) can care less about the large lot. I grew up probably in a 15-20k lot in my parent’s house in the bay area. For us now, we really don’t care having that 10k+ lot (and we’re in a postage sized lot now) because:
1) Landscaping is expensive! The larger the lot, the more expensive to landscape it.
2) We are in door hermits. Sure, I grew up riding my bikes outside (pretty rarely in the backyard actually), rolling down the hill on a cardboard in our backyard, etc…but SD is pretty hot compared to the bay area actually and it’s foolish to sit outside a lot. Kids probably have a lot of other activities so that’s even less backyard/large lot time.
3) We’re busy! With a kid and barely enough time to get basic personal stuff done and work, chores, who has time to sit outside and enjoy the atmosphere?!?!? A lot of dual income, 1 high income folks would probably prefer to spend time indoors with their kids with the occasional park time rather than play in their backyard, big or small.
4) Lastly, being Asian and all the stereotypes that come with that, I think a lot of those zip codes are simply not on a lot of asian families list of cities to buy in. Lemon Grove, having lived in East county before is a pretty bad area having been there a few times.
5) We like NEW! Maybe the old generation has time to “fix up” the house, but like point 3 above, who has time to do a “home project?” I’d rather spend my time doing things I enjoy than fixing things around the house that’s constantly breaking in a 20 year old house…
Give me my postage stamp sized lot brand spanking new, highly energy efficient home anyday over a 20k lot 20 year fixer…
If we don’t run the AC/heat much, our power bills are in the 60-70 dollars now compared to 40-50 in a 1000 sqft apartment.
Heat seems very expensive (3 months) and we turn it on since the baby refuses to use a blanket. 🙁
