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- Info
Building small-lot homes in your community
| Author: |
Kreager, William H. |
| Date: |
1992 |
| Periodical: |
Land Development |
| Abstract: |
As environmental restrictions, antigrowth sentiment, state and local growth management initiatives, and spiraling land costs make their impact felt all over the country, previously unacceptable detached densities are becoming a reality-whether mandated by statute, judicial opinion, or financial and economic conditions. Most small- and moderate-sized production builders, who are responsible for most of the housing built in the United States, work in communities that define high density detached housing as homes built at four to six units per acre. Typically, these builders operate in market areas that are decidedly not the Californians of the country where growth has been the norm and where, historically, six to 12 detached units per acre have been acceptable to the buyer-if only because no other affordable housing options exist. Now, small- and moderate-sized builders are beginning to ask, "Sure, they bought it in Orange County, but will they buy it in Sheboygan?" The answer is "Yes." Even the small builder who takes down 10 to 20 acres in a middle-income suburb of Cleveland can sell small-lot housing to a market that does not think it wants small-lot living. Prospective buyers driving into a development do not know that a project is constructed at four or six or eight units per acre if the neighborhood is well planned and designed. When a project "looks" dense (whether or not it is), buyers turn around and move on to the competition's offerings. But if a development "appears" open and attractive (features that can be achieved at higher densities), buyers will visit the sales office to learn more about the community. The challenge is to learn how to apply some of the techniques that can make the small builder a success in higher-density detached housing. |
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