Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Involuntary Simplicity-self selection

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

On the subject of house sizes:

At RoseWind, a lot-development model, the lots are all about the same 
size, but people can build according to their taste and budget. So what 
did they choose? 

Of 22 homes built, or designed for building this year, figuring on the 
number of rooms a realtor could claim were bedrooms, we have

1 BR  (4) typically 800-1000 sq ft, one story

2 BR (9) typically 1200-1600 sq ft, two story

3 BR (3)

4 BR (5)  3-4 BRs typically 1800-2300 sq ft, on two or three levels (a 
number of our lots are on a slope, with daylight-basement lower levels)

Of the 8 three- and four-bedroom homes, 5 are counting an apartment that 
is part of the house ("accessory dwelling unit" or "in-law" unit), and 5 
are using a 'bedroom' as a home office. Of the 22 homes total, 12 are 
using one or more "bedrooms" for other purposes:  sewing, guest, art 
studio, office.

51 BR total, of which 21 are being used for other than daily sleeping 
rooms.
This might shed some light on the question of whether if a group builds a 
larger home, with a large family in mind, they might have trouble finding 
a buyer for it on resale. 

This is of course also influenced by local real estate costs and income 
levels. We're in an area where homes cost about $100-200,000 to build, 
and the common buy-in cost, for land, infrastructure, common house 
construction, etc has been about $28-38,000.  A number of our owners came 
here upon retiring and selling a home in a nearby big city, at a handsome 
profit. A number of our owners have lowered their construction costs by 
helping to build their homes themselves, as well. 

Lynn Nadeau, RoseWind Cohousing , Port Townsend WA