In article ,
no mail wrote:

Nobody is saying that the houses should look the same in a neighbood. In
fact all decent sized builders let you choose from a number of models.
They can even make same model homes look very different if two
neighbours choose the same model.


Well, I am sorry to disagree. Tract homes are tract homes and always look
like tract homes.


The point is that a few $100,000 homes mixed in a $500,000 homes make
the community less appearing, and affect the property values. You also
feel more secure and comfortable when your neighbors are similar


Maybe a few $500K homes mixed in with lots of $100K homes makes the
community more appealing from the POV of the people who own the $100K
homes. Within a mile of my house, houses range from maybe $400K all the
way up to $2M. While the average house is by definition average, I don't
see what the problem is if there are some bigger houses sprinkled in. The
bigger houses tend to be on the bigger, estate-sized lots but that's not
universally true. Why would you want a cookie-cutter neighborhood where
everyone has 1.5 kids and a dog? Is it scary to live next door to someone
whose house is half as big (or 2x as big) as yours?


Personally, I really like a Tudor next to a Spanish next to an Italianate next
to a Colonial next to a Craftsman. It's a lot more interesting than 4 models
of houses with different elevations trying to look different from each
other by having their garages on opposite sides. As for values, obviously
the people in the cheaper houses like having the expensive houses nearby
and the people in the expensive houses don't mind too much either because
it means they can buy a big house for a bit less than they would've paid
for it in an estate area like, say, Beverly Hills where that $2M house
might cost $4M.


Dimitri