I ran a regression on Rancho Bernardo awhile back. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but while the price per square foot was around $300 for houses in the area, the coefficient on square footage (marginal price per square foot) was only about $100.
Basically, there is a big ante to get any kind of a house, and the marginal cost of a bigger one is much lower for many of the reasons described above (I think income thresholds also play a role…lots of families making 100k, but many fewer making 120/150, etc….roughly, then, if a 1,500 square foot house is 500k, a 2,500 square foot house would run 600k…numbers aren’t perfect since I’m working from memory, but you get the idea.
