Honestly, I'm surprised anyone is still buying the new homes at all. The developers must think it's still 2006. I understand that they probably plan many years and advance and there isn't much undeveloped land left to begin with, but c'mmon now.

All new construction in, say, AA and HW counties can be divided roughly into two categories: 1) places you don't want to live in and 2) McMansions.

I was recently driving on the Airport loop and saw a new Ryan Homes site right next to BWI. It's literally across the fence from the airport. Then the pricing. "From 360s" means the cheapest stripped down model is $369,999 where even the kitchen island is optional.

Then the floorplans don't make any sense and are clearly designed to increase the builders profit, not the buyers convenience. Why is the master bedroom on the front side, facing the neighbors garage, while 3 other bedrooms enjoy the tranquil views in the rear? Really, I want to know.

On the other end of spectrum are the 1-acre estates. How many more of those do we need?

Haven't the developers heard about the recent "less is more" trend and "green" home concepts? They seriously need to catch up with their customer base because it ain't 2006 and no one is buying those crappy homes next to the freeway ramp anymore.