Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Mix of unit size?

[Christina Smillie (smilliec]

Thanks Sharon, this is VERY helpful.
tina

On 3/24/2012 10:13 AM, Sharon Villines wrote:
> On 24 Mar 2012, at 8:17 AM, Christina Smillie wrote:
>
> > We don't need to reinvent the wheel if such info is available somewhere,
> > so first of all just looking for resources.
> > Although if here is a list, we might want to query how it's worked out,
> > and whether any one person's opinion can speak for their community anyway.
> I don't know of any organized list or article but there are posts on this in the 
> archives. Probably searching on "bedrooms" might bring them up. Sorting out the 
> statistics takes a long time so unless people have already done this, they are unlikely 
> to respond.
>
> It would be nice to hear from the professionals on the planning phase since 
> they have a broader overview.
>
> Anecdotal stores:
>
> 1. In Florida in a community that never got built, the one bedrooms were the 
> most requested but the bank wouldn't fund one bedrooms. This was in the late 
> 1990s (sounds like a long time ago!) and they said only 2 bedrooms had resale 
> value.
>
> 2. The one bedrooms at Takoma Village sell like hotcakes with auctions and 
> inflated prices in my opinion. We have 625 SF one-bedrooms-with-a-den which 
> could also be opened up for a dining room or used as a bedroom. The nicest 
> floor plan we have but still small.
>
> 3. In the original purchasing round, there was no relationship between number 
> of people and size of unit. Children were in a one bedroom with a den used as a 
> bedroom, and singles were more likely to be in a three bedroom with a full 
> basement than households with children.
>
> 4. After 12 years, there are far more people living here as a result of planned children 
> arriving 1-2 years after move-in — lots of adoptions — and in most cases 2 
> adults moving in to every 1 moving out. Those who moved in have been much more involved than 
> those who moved out so the community feels huge now. 91 people compared to about 54 when we 
> moved in.
>
> 5. The huge range from small one bedroom to four bedrooms with a full basement 
> still feels good. They are  jumbled so one bedrooms are next to 4 bedrooms.
>
> 6. No matter what size unit is available at any given time, someone will only 
> be able to take something else. The most noticed demand is for what isn't 
> available.
>
> 7. That more expensive larger units take longer to sell only means that larger 
> more expensive units take longer to sell. People can squeeze into smaller units 
> but they can't always come up with more money. Ditto, the higher your expected 
> salary, the longer it takes to find a new job.
>
> Not statistics nor givens everywhere but things to consider.
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
>
>
>
>
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