When I get bored, I occasionally check Redfin for our area (Seattle and suburbs). The prices peaked in spring 2018, then went down a notch, and now seem to be holding up.
LOL, how about define “large”??? 
One person’s large is another persons small.
I think you have to either define by square footage - unless you are also wanting to define lot size. A four bedroom home can be 1800 square feet or 3500 square feet depending on the extra/generous size or not rooms.
My D and her H just bought a 6K sq ft house (not including basement) on a .8 acre lot with a pool. It’s one and a half years old and within walking distance to the train station, in a NYC suburb with excellent schools. The house was on the market for 8 months. What sold them was the walking distance to the train station and yes I personally feel it’s too much house as the taxes and maintenance costs are sky high.
Our Northern Virginia suburban area has very few large houses on the market. I run in my neighborhood and others nearby and the few I have seen up for sale go under contract very quickly.
MIL’s home in rural-flavored suburban northern New England was large to us – 3,000 sf. It went on the market late spring for mid-300’s and sale closed in September. Young family, one child with more than one more planned.
Maybe it’s just the millennials I know, but none seems to want a large house, and many are consciously choosing to spend money on experiences rather than things. I have a friend whose ds and his gf are doing this thing where they only have 100 things each, like discussed in this TED talk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=Q7VUpYpTwI8
I think the 100 thing each fad will go the way if the dodo bird soon. Our bed alone is more than 10 things: 4 pillowcases, 4 pillows, flat sheet, fitted sheet, blanket, bed frame, headboard, coverlet. Do you want to launder your only towel All. The. Time?! No thanks. We have a set of towels. Definitely more than 5 individual things.
They want houses they can afford…and they don’t want rooms they never plan to use. Many don’t want the formal living rooms and dining rooms, for example. They would prefer a great room arrangement which some of these larger homes don’t have. Younger buyers want efficient use of space and not necessarily more sq footage.
Scottsdale for young folks…this made me LOL. @“Cardinal Fang”
We tried to sell our 4br/4bath northern NJ house last year and found the market very difficult. One of the things that appealed to us in 2003 was the acreage/privacy and now that is not considered an asset by most buyers. We were told that buyers want walkability or a really good train connection to the city. We’re on a train line, but not the best one. We are going to lose at least 30% of our investment when it sells. Very discouraging. NJ is in a bad position because of the high taxes and a net outflow of residents leaving for other states. There is still a good market for lower priced homes. Homes in our neighborhood are sitting for a long time.
That is the case in the suburbs of Denver. Those large houses sit on the market a while, in part because they’re more expensive, harder to heat/cool, and simply not in vogue anymore. Young couples often prefer smaller, mid-century moderns to the McMansions build in the 80s and 90s. In the city of Denver, everything goes quickly because of a lack of inventory.
@GRIT80, that’s exactly what my sister was seeing. Houses in places like Summit NJ (walk to the train) are still selling, but houses in other northern NJ suburbs that don’t have good train connections are sitting on the market. My brother-in-law, a realtor, said just what you said: younger two-career couples who could afford a large house don’t want to buy one in a suburb where they’d have a long commute and where they’d have to do a lot of driving in general.
Also, obviously, fewer couples have the big families that filled the houses on my street when I was young. Most people don’t need a seven bedroom house.
If the big houses are more than 20 years old and haven’t been updated, it’s hard to sell to millenials. Most want a good school district,an easy commute and houses with open floor plans, high ceilings with plenty of light; a ready to move in house with no carpets, no wallpaper and no wood paneling. My daughter only wanted to look at newer homes.
At least in my metro area, no one wants to live in most of downtown. It’s a mixture of high poverty, high crime areas and college students who throw parties every weekend. Anyone over 25 who can afford to do so lives out in the suburbs. Housing size appears to be limited more by affordability than anything else for most people I know.
Someone I know bought a house in Short Hills NJ for 2.5 mill in 2004 and couldn’t sell it at 1.8 mill in 2018. The house was completely renovated with brand new kitchen, bathrooms, etc.
My friend sold his house in Westchester for 1.6 mill 10 years, now it is on the market for 1.4 mill. The buyer did a lot of work to the house even though the house was less than 10 years old.
Both of those houses had 5-6 bedrooms.
Environmental footprint is a big factor where I am. People want to be able to walk to activities, they want well-insulated houses, and there’s a lot of value on modern solar and geothermal systems. There are enthusiastic buyers for any size and price, but these factors come into play in a really big way right now.
I think anyone who bought just before the recession is going to take a loss in almost all markets. The key is to not be emotional about the house/purchase price and understand what the market supports now. That was definitely an issue for us when we sold as well as for the seller we bought from. (OH and IL)
I know the Scottsdale market because we bought there 2 years ago and I’ve been following it ever since. It is interesting. Values continue to increase, but one level homes sell better. For $400,000, you can get a 1600 square foot ranch style home or a 2,500 square foot 2 story. I assumed it was because most buyers wanted one level.
Not in Seattle or Bay Area. Even though the prices plateaued recently, they are still way above the 2005-2007 levels.
Here, Tacoma still going on all cylinders!!
Apparently, number one hot RE market in the nation.
One level homes are expensive by definition. You need more roof and more foundation per sft.
Here in the PNW, Craftsman style rules. But Craftsmans need at least 10% more framing lumber than a comparable 2 story. And definitely way more lumber than a fat roofer box - guess what is being built here now? That’s right, those butt ugly boxes.
We bought before the housing crash. We live outside DC in MD. We already know we’re going to take a huge hit. What makes the house unique is the first floor in-law suite.
We tried to sell it 2 years ago. Had no showings and after a month we got a 3 year military rental. Once they’re out we’re prepared to take the loss and sell it for way less than we bought.
Problem with Maryland is that after the millionaire tax, wealthy people left and no new money is moving in.
All the high tech industry is in Va while we got the casino.