Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
87
Buying a home is by far the largest purchase most of us will make, and paying the rent or mortgage will be our largest monthly expense. In the post-pandemic home-buying boom, the median sale price of a new home peaked at almost $500,000 dollars, just under
a year ago

Improve your reading experience

Logged in users get linked directly to articles resulting in a better reading experience. Please login for free, it takes less than 1 minute.

More from Construction Physics

Reading List 07/05/2025

A microscopic electric motor, California’s CEQA rollback, a US shipbuilding startup, Chinese map obfuscation, and more.

2 days ago 5 votes
Reading List 06/28/25

Fannie and Freddie’s mortgage blacklist, the air traffic controller shortage, the largest landowners in the US, a blended wing airliner, and more.

a week ago 10 votes
Why Are Homes in Western States So Expensive?

Earlier this month I came across the following graphic, originally posted on Reddit in 2022, showing the state of housing affordability in the US.

a week ago 12 votes
Reading List for 06/21/2025

Construction Physics email stats, why appliances break so often, a special economic zone for Silicon valley, a river filtering pool, and more.

2 weeks ago 12 votes
Batteries Are Making the Electrical Grid More Reliable

To operate reliably, the US electrical grid needs to balance supply and demand: to make sure, at any given moment, that the amount of electricity demanded by homes, businesses, and factories is equal to the amount being supplied by nuclear reactors, gas turbines, and other types of power plants.

2 weeks ago 15 votes

More in architecture

This Artist’s Treehouse Is Changing How We See Tiny Homes

In an episode from Tiny House Giant Journey, a YouTube channel dedicated to unique home tours, host Jenna visits the Black Crane Treehouse, a striking, mid century-inspired retreat perched in the treetops above Mission Lake in Washington State. Designed as an artist residency, this small but highly intentional space blends architecture, craftsmanship, and nature into one unforgettable experience.

10 hours ago 1 votes
Reading List 07/05/2025

A microscopic electric motor, California’s CEQA rollback, a US shipbuilding startup, Chinese map obfuscation, and more.

2 days ago 5 votes
This 1970s Home Gets a Family-Friendly Makeover

In Calgary’s quiet residential landscape, a dated 1970s bungalow has been thoughtfully transformed into a warm, family-first home by Mera Studio Architects. With just 1,700 square feet, the design embraces curves, storage solutions, and playful moments, proving that even modest footprints can feel elevated, functional, and full of life. The clients, a young family, were already design-aligned with the studio through previous collaborations, and this shared language led to a renovation that balances minimalism with charm.

3 days ago 4 votes
The Irony of Nigeria’s Resilient Democracy and Growing Legacy of Urban Tyranny

Planning policies reflect a deep disdain for the poor, prioritizing elite aesthetics over social equity.

5 days ago 5 votes
Open Borders

A border is an idea so powerful that we never even have to see it to believe it. Or believe in it. Global borders can be sites of peace and conflict, violence and celebration, opportunity and confinement. And borders as they exist today – which is to say, increasingly militarized and clearly defined – are

6 days ago 9 votes