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The “McMansion” is officially moving from a status symbol to liability.
Twenty years after the 2006 housing boom, new data from Zillow reveals a fundamental reversal in the American Dream: Buyers are ditching “wasted scale” and mahogany-heavy footprints for high-efficiency “sanctuaries.”
As insurance premiums and property taxes soar, real estate experts warn that the oversized, unoptimized estates of the mid-aughts are becoming a financial exposure for homeowners who fail to adapt.
“The appetite for space hasn’t disappeared, but the definition of value has evolved. Buyers still want room for family, entertaining and flexibility. What they don’t want is excess without purpose,” Catena Homes principal Harrison Polsky told Fox News Digital.
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“With rising insurance costs in Texas and higher property taxes, a 5,000-plus-square-foot home that isn’t energy efficient or thoughtfully designed can absolutely feel like a liability. But a well-built, high-performance home of that size with strong insulation, efficient systems and functional layout still represents the American Dream here,” he added. “The shift isn’t away from scale entirely; it’s away from wasted scale.”
“In Palm Beach County, scale still has strong appeal, particularly in waterfront and estate communities. However, soaring insurance costs in Florida have changed buyer behavior,” RWB Construction Management founder Robert Burrage also told Fox News Digital.
“A 6,000 or 7,000-square-foot home built in 2006 without impact glass, elevated construction, modern roofing and generator systems can absolutely feel like financial exposure,” Burrage noted. “Buyers are willing to pay for size, but only if it’s engineered for resilience.”
Going back to 2006, luxury was granite and mahogany. In 2026, Zillow says it’s pickleball courts and golf simulators (with listing mentions up 25%) to whole-home batteries (up 40%) and zero-energy-ready homes (up 70%).
“Resilience and lifestyle go hand in hand. Whole-home generators, battery storage, hurricane-rated systems, smart-home integration and expansive outdoor living are expected,” Burrage said.
“A large home without those features narrows the buyer pool significantly. Meanwhile,” he said, “a slightly smaller but technologically advanced home designed for indoor-outdoor living often performs better in terms of demand and pricing.”
“Today’s buyers are far more educated about operating costs and long-term durability,” Polsky agreed. “In this market, lifestyle infrastructure and sustainability are no longer bonuses. They’re baseline expectations.”
Resale advice used to be: “Keep it beige.” Now, Zillow finds buyers offer more for olive green and charcoal gray, with “color drenching” mentions up 149%. The experts said the “beige box” of the mid-aughts is a harder sell now.
“The sterile beige spec home from the mid-2000s definitely feels dated. Buyers today respond to depth and personality but it has to be curated,” Polsky said. “We’re encouraging sellers to modernize with warmer neutrals, layered textures, and intentional color moments. ‘Safe’ used to mean blank. Now safe means thoughtfully designed. Homes that lack character tend to photograph poorly and sit longer.”
“Buyers want lighter, organic palettes with architectural texture and contrast,” Burrage weighed in. “We’re advising our clients who are building with us to keep interiors fresh and light strategically. A thoughtful design can materially impact buyer perception and final sales price.”
As millennials and Gen X become the primary buying force, they are rejecting the norms of what once was. The real estate experts both answered “yes” when asked if the market is seeing a permanent cultural shift in what “luxury” means.
“Boomers selling older estates should strongly consider modernizing systems and aesthetics,” Burrage said. “Buyers are comparing them to newly built coastal homes engineered for climate durability and lower operating risk.”
“Boomers selling 2006-era estates need to understand that today’s buyers compare everything to new construction with modern infrastructure. Updating mechanical systems, improving energy performance and refreshing interiors before listing can dramatically improve positioning,” Polsky pointed out. “The American Dream hasn’t gone away, it’s simply become more intentional. Buyers want homes that support how they live, not just how they’re seen.”
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