5-3 Popular Culture Artifact

A man’s home is his castle. A castle is a large fort or group of buildings that were built for defensive measures and offensive weapons, strong enough to repel an attack. Castles were enclosed in thick walls with places to shoot arrows from. They were often surrounded by a deep ditch filled with water. The castle was the home of a noble, a king or queen (monarch), or someone important and loyal to the monarch.

The word castle comes from a Latin word meaning fortress. European castles developed from fortified camps built by the ancient Romans and from fenced villages of prehistoric Europeans. The earliest castles were built of earth and timber and placed on a constructed or natural hill, called a mote. Today the structures that most people think of as a castle were those built of stone in Europe between A.D. 900 and 1400 (Wikipedia).

The Castle was the ultimate status symbol for medieval lords. It was a home, a fortress, an outpost, and a safe place for everyone to take refuge in times of danger. It was an integral part of a knight's life and one of the most enduring symbols of medieval culture. Castles played a central role in the political and military system of its times. It also served as a barracks, prison, storehouse, armory, treasure house, and center for local government. A castle was not only a bastion and place for detention of prisoners but also a social place where a knight or lord could entertain his peers. Over time the aesthetics of the design increased in importance, as the appearance and size began to reflect the prestige and power of the occupant. Over time comfortable homes evolved within the fortified walls of the castles. In the 16th Century castles became homes and in the 21st Century, homes became castles. The prestigious and powerful members of our society found great uses for mammoth houses, symbols if you will, of who they are and how successful they’ve become.

According to Forbes Magazine, the average home price on Forbes.com's Most Expensive Homes in America list last year was $51.9 million. It's not surprising that the average price this year dropped to $47.4 million--but it is surprising that the drop was so slight. During the course of a year rife with national and economic woes, a few houses from our list were pulled from the market--one was sold at a discount and the rest are languishing as owners hold fast to the stubborn belief that a $50 million bid is coming any day (Forbes, 2008).

Financial clout is the name of the home-buying game among luxury house hunters. Evidently not many are as dependent on lower interest rates to make the move, nearly one-third (31.5%) of buyers paid cash to purchase their one million dollar plus home. Of those who choose to take on a mortgage, 17% placed a down payment that was 50% or more than the price of their new luxury home. According to a recent Caldwell Banker survey, despite paying a big price tag for top-of-the-line homes and amenities, 41% of these luxury homebuyers still plan on investing more money in the home by doing major renovations. In terms of negotiating style, the top luxury homebuyer's tactic was described as "close to the vest, minimum divulgence" (63%), versus "hardball" (24%) and "money is no object, I just want it" (13%). Additionally, it seems these homebuyers use these negotiation tactics successfully to get the best price as the survey indicated that only six percent actually pay over the asking price (Caldwellbanker.com, 2008).
While business executives of large corporations are the number one profession among luxury homeowners, entrepreneurs who own their own businesses are at a close second. That could be one reason why Coldwell Banker sales associates define the wealth of their rich clientele as "new money" (68%), versus "old" or "inherited money" (11%). Other top professions (in order) of buyers of million dollar plus homes were: doctor, banker, lawyer, stockbroker, actor, musician and inventor (Caldwellbankers.com, 2008).

Two-thirds of these homeowners are from the "Baby Boom" generation (between the ages of 35 and 55), but 28% are moving into luxury properties as they approach their retirement years (56 years and older). Only 4% of luxury homeowners are under 34 years of age. Eighty-eight percent of luxury home purchasers are married, of which 55% have children. About 1 out of 10 are single (6% men; 5% women). Seven out of 10 luxury homebuyers (72%) come from the same state where they buy their new home, of which 55% are from the same city. Twenty-four percent come from out of state, while 3% hail from another country (Caldwellbankers.com, 2008).

It is understandable that these luxury homebuyers are looking for particular lifestyle items and amenities to enjoy - in the comfort of their own home. Whether cooking for themselves or employing their own chefs, designer kitchens are the number one priority for luxury homeowners. Following kitchens, the top five most requested amenities (in order) are: media/entertainment room with theater-style seating, wine cellar, tennis courts/basketball courts, indoor pool and ballroom/cigar room. Which proverb is true: "Less is more," or " bigger is better"? When it comes to number of rooms and square footage, it seems that size is relative.
From 1980 until 2007, ---the average American home grew every year, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Now that trend has started to turn, as Americans are embracing smaller homes with an emphasis on design and details and spurning the suburban mega-mansion. The move to smaller homes can be found in the luxury market, too, as buyers pony up two or three times their city's median price per square foot to buy homes that are often under 1,000 square feet (Forbes.com).

According to the National Association of Monster Home Builders (NAMHB), in 1945 the average new house was only 900 square feet and by 1970, that figure grew to 1,900 square feet. Today's average is 4,700 square feet. One in five now are more than 11,000 square feet and five stories tall.

As houses bloated in size, the number of household members shrank from 8.1 people in 1971 to 1.6 people today. The average building-lot size contracted to 7,000 square feet from 13,000 in the 1980s. Builders put in monster homes on whatever miniature lots they can find or knock down smaller houses and replace them with castles. There are now more monster houses on smaller lots with fewer people living in them.

Fueling the monster home craze was the dizzying rise in house prices in the huge real estate bubble, coupled with the extravagant wish list of home features Americans want. 97% prefer six or more bedrooms with 66% wanting at least five. 85% of Americans want to walk in to their wine cellars, closets and pantries. 88% want multiple shower stalls, 95% want indoor pools and laundry rooms and 64% seek home offices and four car garages. More than two-thirds crave home theater rooms, exercise rooms, sun rooms, dens and inside greenhouses. Thus monster homes blossomed (NAMHB).

At the national level, housing prices peaked in early 2005, started to decline in 2006, and may not yet have hit bottom. On December 30, 2008 the Case-Shiller home price index reported its largest price drop in its history. Increased foreclosure rates in 2006–2007 among U.S. homeowners led to a crisis in August 2008 for the subprime, collateralized debt obligation (CDO), mortgage, credit, hedge fund, and foreign bank markets. In October 2007, the U.S. Treasury Secretary called the bursting housing bubble "the most significant risk to our economy" (Wikipedia, 2009).

For many involved in this crisis, the American dream of owning their own castle has turned into a myth, a fairy tale of make believe. They now have to put off the stereotypical rich-indulgent lifestyle of castle living for more modest digs. The market is forcing consumers to embrace the idea that a house is first and foremost a place to live and not a place to entertain two hundred of your closest friends.

References

Caldwellbankers.com, official website. Retrieved May 4, 2009 from, http://www.coldwellbankerpreviews.com/servlet/ResourceGuide?action=showArticle&articleId=1360

Forbes.com (2008). Forbes most expensive homes in America. Retrieved May 5, 2009 from, http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/13/homes-small-luxury-forbeslife-cx_mw_1013realestate_slide.html
Wikipedia, Official website. Castles. Retrieved May 5, 2009 from, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle