Why (and When) People Start Hating McMansions
An interesting study out of Ohio State University finally explains what causes the visceral reaction to McMansions by people.
It is when the homes are out of proportion to the neighborhood that they are in. If you live in a subdivision of 5,000 square foot homes 3 stories high, people are not bothered by the home size.
However, when the homes are twice as high as the neighborhood they are built in, it creates a strongly negative reaction. And you know what, that makes perfect sense.
Add now that most media folks live in urban environments where such inflow McMansions will stand out like sore thumbs, you now understand why they get such a bad rap in our news media.
The results showed that the architectural style of a McMansion had the strongest effect on whether people rated it as compatible with the neighborhood and visually appealing and found it particularly offensive it was much larger than others nearby.
Nasar said he was surprised that people didn’t start rating blocks significantly lower until the McMansion was at least twice as big as the surrounding homes and for participants in the study, size mostly related to height.
“While relative height mattered, people did not react as negatively to homes that were significantly wider than those of the neighboring homes,” said Nasar.
“We found that communities should try to maintain stylistic consistency and limit the size of new homes to less than roughly twice the size of the neighboring houses. Those are the factors that seem to concern people most.” via Reuters.
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Comment by Land Development Company on 10 February 2009:
Does this come as a surprise to anyone? Of course neighbors do not want to be overshadowed by three story mansions that stretch from fence to fence. One should consider the size of the property in comparison to the home, if you want a mansion build on a bigger property.
Comment by Brewer Caldwell on 10 February 2009:
It’s common sense, right? I guess this is one area that an HOA would serve some good. One of the few… Yeah, that house is rediculously huge for that neighborhood and there’s no way I’d be their neighbor. It looks as though it can only hurt the appeal.
Comment by Amy Cicherski on 11 February 2009:
I myself live in an older neighborhood that has beautiful trees and 1/2 acre lots but now … the McMansions have bull dozed these homes and trees, put the whole house on the lot with no backyard. We now look at a Sante Fe style home in Colleyville, Texas not Arizona or New Mexico or even California but Texas. Our neighborhood is trying to ban this too….value seems to be in the eye of the beholder and people will pay more for a home that has trees and a backyard not one they can change the neighbors tv with their own remote.
Pingback by Why People Hate McMansions – Home Girl on 12 February 2009:
[...] new study reveals why it is people like me can have a visceral reaction to McMansions. Apparently it is when [...]
Comment by Portland Real Estate on 17 March 2009:
I agree, they are gross looking. I always think of the waste when I see a mansion like that.