McMansions Aren't Totally Out of Style

• January 18th 2011

by Mark Wellborn

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Despite signs pointing to the contrary, at least one area home builder believes that newly constructed mega mansions are not completely a thing of the past.

CNBC reported this morning that a 32,000 square-foot mansion is being built “on spec” in Potomac, MD. The homebuilder is Niroo Masterpieces, a Potomac-based firm that has constructed a number of oversized spec homes in the past several years, seven of which have sold.

Here is what Niroo Masterpiece’s David Niroo told CNBC on why he is still bullish on this market:

“People are realizing the value of Washington,” notes Niroo. “If you take this house, it’s 32,000 square feet, and you drop it in Aspen or you drop it in Jersey, it’s at least double the price. So they can see the value and they can see the growth in this town.”

Still, there are number of indicators that don’t bode that well for Niroo’s outlook. For one, home builder confidence dropped unexpectedly in January. For another, as we have reported, new and future generations of home buyers are eschewing large homes in favor of smaller properties that are well-located. And lastly, as the CNBC article notes, there are a number of McMansions out in Potomac that have sat on the market for awhile and even with price reductions, are not getting any offers.

Niroo plans to list his latest mansion for $6 million when it hits the market. We will try and follow how successful he is in selling it.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/mcmansions_arent_totally_out_of_style/2864.