What is a McMansion?
Chances are someone you know probably lives in one
You’ve heard of a mansion, but have you ever heard of a “McMansion”?
Chances are someone you know probably lives in one.
McMansion is a term that refers to a large house — typically in a suburban neighborhood — that looks like every other house in the neighborhood. The style was popularized during the 1980s and 1990s.
Their structures typically follows a similar pattern, as noted by Curbed, including a central core with a multistory entryway, a side wing and a garage wing.
According to real estate website Trulia, they tend to range between 3,000 and 5,000 square feet, or 1.5 to 2.5 times larger than the median-sized new home in 2000.
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The word is a play on McDonalds items, indicating the homes are generic and mass-produced.
“McMansions were the Big Macs of the housing market back in the early aughts: large, mass-produced, delivered in a tight package (land), and looked the same regardless of where you bought one,” Trulia’s Ralph McLaughlin said.
Recently, however, it appears the trend seems to have lost a little bit of its luster. Premiums declined to 117 percent in 2016, from 138 percent in 2012, data from Trulia showed.
In fact, there is even talk that McMansions are being replaced by a new fad – the McModern. As defined by Curbed, a McModern traces its foundation to the McMansion, but is differentiated by its architectural style (modernism). It is characterized by a boxy form and smooth, minimalist visuals.