The average house buyer (note I did not say 'home' buyer) would be glad to live in the city....but when he goes to buy his 3-2 on 1/5 acre with all the amenities it's located in a suburb.
I dunno where you got this info. I don't know anyone around me that wants to live in the city.
The buyer might choose his tile color, but more often than not he's looking at houses that have been crammed onto the cheapest lot possible. It's either that or buy some 60 year old piece of junk in the city with a 60 amp service and lead pipes.
A builder would be glad to put a house on a huge lot if that was what the general public wanted, but more often than not, the market would be slim due to the cost. Property values of the vacant land or existing developments set the value of the completed house/land property. Are there 'carpetbaggers'? Sure. It's up to the buyers to weed them out and not buy from them if they don't like their prices. This is a capitolistic society after all. If you want all the houses to cost the same, the U.S. is not the place to look for a house.
Are house buyers stupid and shortsighted? Yes. But so are developers and builders. The average developer swings a bigger club than the average house buyer.
In the future, lawyer jokes will have been replaced by developer jokes.
I sense a little anomousity here.
I think you just called just about everyone on this board "stupid and shortsighted". You must rent, right?
