A Revolution of Residential Design
Levittown and the Rise of Suburbia
In 1947, a stretch of potato fields on Long Island started growing something new. Instead of potatoes, the land was transformed into thousands of identical houses, each built in just a few days. The development was called Levittown. To the families moving in, it must have felt like a miracle. To those watching from afar, it looked like the future. Before Levittown, the suburbs were mainly for the wealthy. Places like Shaker Heights in Ohio and Riverside in Illinois offered quiet streets away from the pollution and overcrowding of the city, but working families couldn’t afford to live there. Levittown was different. The developers, Levitt & Sons, treated home construction like an assembly line, and crews efficiently knocked out house after house. At their peak, they finished dozens of homes a day.
Housing was in high demand at the time. With veterans returning home from World War II and the baby boom beginning, cities were running out of space. A Levittown home sold for around $8,000, which was within reach of families using GI Bill loans. The single-story houses came with stoves, televisions, and a small yard for barbecues. It wasn’t luxury, but it gave the families who moved there a chance to live their version of the American dream. Soon, the development became its own world. Swimming pools, baseball fields, and shopping centers became places where families ran into neighbors on Saturday mornings, which felt new and full of possibility. But that possibility wasn’t a reality for everyone.
Racist sales policies barred Black families from buying homes, even when they qualified for loans. The suburb also reinforced older ideas about gender. Women who had worked during the war felt pressure to return to domestic life, stay home, and care for the kids while their husbands commuted to work. For all its promise, it was still a product of its time. Even so, Levittown launched a new style of living that transformed the landscape of American life. Other developers copied the model, and before long, new neighborhoods stretched toward the horizon. Rows of identical houses became symbols of stability, and the dream of a better life moved to the city’s edges.
Getting Smart About Your Next Mortgage Are Refi Rates Worth Another Look?
Lately, I’ve started to see something I have not seen in a while. Refinance files are back on my desk. For a couple of years, people sat on their cheap old loans or froze when they saw how fast rates jumped. Now that rates have dipped, more homeowners are asking the question again: Does a refi help us or not? Nobody I talk to is thrilled with the rates. We aren’t going back to 3%, but we are also not at the peak. Around Massachusetts, prices are still strong, so people aren’t betting on a crash. A refinance can help in the right situation, but it is not free money. You have to look at a few simple things. How long do you plan to stay in the house? What are the closing costs, and how much will the payment really change each month? One basic test is to take the closing cost and divide
it by the monthly savings. If the number you get is longer than you plan to stay, it’s not worth it. If your current rate is at least a full point higher than what lenders are offering now, it’s worth a call to see current numbers.
If rates keep drifting, I expect to see more people move from refinancing to buying and selling again. A lot of folks have been sitting tight, even when the house doesn’t really fit anymore. It might be due to a new job across town, or stairs that are getting tougher every year for parents or grandparents. At some point, you stop waiting for the rate you missed and start looking for a place that works better for your situation. That’s where we come in. I’m not a mortgage guy, but I talk to lenders all the time and can point you toward the right people. Also, in Massachusetts, you are going to have a lawyer involved in the closing anyway, whether it’s a refinance or a sale. If you are kicking around the idea of a refi or move this year, call us first so we can help with the process.
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