Am I the only one fed up with houses being so small? do others feel the same way?

LandyAndy

A result of the British market being obsessed with number of bedrooms rather than square footage of floor space.


A three bed of x square feet will sell for more than an identical sized 2 bed.

user1168934

Kathy535 wrote: »

Apparently, we build the smallest houses in Europe and Yorkshire has the smallest homes of all.

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/building-control-news/uk-smallest-homes-europe/32902/

Comments about looking for older houses (i.e. Pre 1970s) feel right. I had a small 1980s two bed as my first house and then moved into a Victorian terrace, now in a 50s semi. Both the latter have larger rooms and feel more spacious. Careful decorating and use of clever storage can make spaces feel larger - I've always loved these stair drawers and plinth drawers

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/208221182741467872/
https://www.howdens.com/kitchen-collection/kitchen-accessories/drawer-storage/plinth-drawer/

Oh blimey .... "Yorkshire has the smallest homes of all"
and somewhere in the back of my mind I was thinking about moving to somewhere around Leeds in the hope that housing might be better and affordable than in south east (and still has plenty of tech jobs). :rotfl:

user1168934

LandyAndy wrote: »

A result of the British market being obsessed with number of bedrooms rather than square footage of floor space.


A three bed of x square feet will sell for more than an identical sized 2 bed.

Thanks mate that is exactly what I was thinking. Properties are advertised as 3 beds and sometimes the third bed is so small you cannot even fit a single bed and wardrobe in it.

Comms69

There are small houses and big houses - I echo other sentiments, older houses tend to be bigger.

Silvertabby

We bought our new build in the early 1990s and it's a decent size - all 4 bedrooms could take double beds.

However, we've recently been looking at new builds in this area on behalf of a friend - and can't believe how small they are!

In the case of one house, the 3rd bedroom of the '3 bed family home' would only take a cot. Hardly a 'family home' that they' outgrow in just 2 years!

googler

user1168934 wrote: »

I live way outisde the M25 boundary and looking even further out for the house ...

How far is "way outside"?

Manchester? Inverness?

user1168934

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

I think it's your perception. When I look at the houses my grandparents and their parents grew up in, and more importantly the number of people who lived in those houses, even some of the modern estate houses seem generously proportioned.

Expectations have changed. Lots of people "need" two bedrooms for a family of three, lots "need" three for a family of four and so on. There have been lots of threads on here over the years where people "need" to move to a bigger house because their children "won't share a bedroom". I have three siblings and from the age of seven to fifteen I shared a room with my brother and my sisters shared a room. We weren't a rich family, nor was money tight, it was just a normal way of living. My school friends all had similar set-ups.

Back in those days, we bought TVs that fitted in our living rooms. We didn't expect different tables for breakfast and dinner, had fewer appliances and fewer clothes. Basically, with the advent of relatively cheap consumer goods, we buy and own a lot more stuff now so houses feel more cramped.

Thanks mate. I think you have raised some very interesting points. So I have a family too and kids and at the moment they share a bedroom. I cannot even imagine having separate tables for breakfast and dinner, at the moment we are struggling to fit a single small table in the lounge .... having two would be a dream come true for me I dont own a lot of stuff. We do have things that we need but nothing excessive. The thing I am unhappy about is that after all of this there is not enough space for example in our lounge for a 3 seater sofa, a small dining table and enough room to move around.

I take your point that it could just be my perception and may be most people are not bothered about it which is why I asked the question in the first place.

AdrianC

So, basically, your beef is that you can only afford a small two-bed flat.

There are other options apart from multi-million pound mansions, y'know.

You say you're way outside the M25, but then you imply you're in the SE. Where are you? Where do you currently commute to? What equity do you have in your current property, and what mortgage could you afford?

trailingspouse

If you live in the south east, even teeny weeny houses are going to be expensive. You don't say what your budget is.

I don't know where the previous poster got the idea that houses in Yorkshire are small - but hey.

We live a 20 minute train journey from Leeds, in a house with large rooms, high ceilings, 4 bedrooms and 4 floors, built in about 1908. It's a nice area, with good schools. It cost us £225,000 4 years ago.

Where are you from originally?

LuSiVe

I'm not sure my house is too small. I think my stuff may be too big though....