House Lust by Daniel McGinn

I just finished reading a very interesting book, House Lust by Daniel McGinn. He basically explores our society's obsession with newer, bigger and "better" homes. McGinn does a great job of exploring all aspects of this issue, from the increasing size of new homes, the increased popularity of house "flipping", all the HGTV shows and how realtors also play into this issue. I am willing to admit that Chad & I got sucked into house lust when we bought our house. By the time we bought our house we had been married over 4 years and I felt like we were the last married couple who didn't own a home. We also got sucked into wanting a new home so that we could pick the flooring, appliances, etc. We have a very nice townhouse, but now we would choose something completely different. We didn't think we'd even still be in this house now, but with the housing market falling apart we're pretty much stuck here for now.

I think most homeowners can relate to some parts of this book. Although I cannot relate to one homeowner McGinn profiles in his book. This family consists of the 2 parents and 3 children and their house is 9,000 square feet. Compare that to probably the same size family in the 1950's where the average house was 983 square feet. I think the housing issue is just a reflection of what our society values now - quantity over quality and bigger = better. I also think that the people who live in 9,000 square foot homes, along with all the Hummer and other huge SUV drivers out there, are just trying to compensate for something that they lack in their lives.