Aug. 25, 2006 - Single Story Family Homes Near Extinction????

I have read two articles in the past two weeks asking if single story family homes are going to become extinct.  WOW I never thought about that before.   With the costs of building and land prices having gone up in the Las Vegas valley the talk around town centers on buzz words such as mid-level, high rise, low rises, and condo conversions.  Even our detatched homes are becoming three story.  Consider that a single story home is somewhat limited as far as building is concerned.  Lot sizes and it generally costs more to build a single story home. You have to consider things like the concrete slab, roof area, and the truss area.

The other article I read speculated that in 7-10 years the tradional subdivision as we see all over this valley right now will be the thing of the past.  Clark County's Multispecies Habitat Conservation Plan ( now thats a mouthful and where did they come up with that name?) has capped future development in the county at 78,000 acres.  The builders in the valley build on about 7,000 to 9,000 acres a year, leaving enough land for 8-10 years. 

But the article went on to say price and land aside, more and more people have a preference for the vertical lifestyle.  Lets look at the home buying pool, single women were second behind married couples and had a 21% overall purchase, with single men buying 9%.  Single women have very specific housing demands.  They want security, proximity to neighbors they know and a lock and leave lifestyle that allows them to travel and do things without worrying about a lawn.  

Also the oldest of the boomers are turning 60, as consumers gray, they are demanding a streamline lifesyle.  The expansive suburban home with all it entails made sense when they had growing families, now are a burden.  

Will the single family home just disappear?  I know that there are many vertical masterplans in the work but I don't think the tradional subdivison builder will just take their tools and go else where.