What qualifies a house to be a mansion is whether or not the home can be considered large and impressive compared to other homes in the area. There is no specific criteria that makes a house a mansion. Instead, when considering a mansion vs house, the difference is in size, impressiveness, and an overall luxurious property.
What Is A Mansion?
As I said, the generic description of a mansion house is a large and impressive house. Certainly, there must be more to it than that.
As a real estate agent, I do not label one house mansion compared to another. Instead, this is a term bestowed upon a piece of real estate by the public. I think we each have a different expectation when something is described as a mansion.
To me, a mansion is a house. The house is at least two times larger in every way than the typical house in a specific region. Secondly, I would expect the home to be grand in its appearance and loaded with features. The house should contain exceptionally high quality finishes, too.
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What Makes a House Mansion?
Certainly, there are specific factors which can be assessed to determine whether or not a house can be considered a mansion. Let’s break homes down and evaluate what one should expect to see in different categories of home features for a home to be considered a mansion.
A Mansion Must Be A Single Family Home
First, a mansion must be a house. So, we are only looking at single family homes. That’s for sure. Large, opulent apartments or condos are often called penthouses.
What Size House Is Considered A Mansion
There is no clear cut mansion definition size. For a house to be a mansion, the finished square feet of a mansion should be at least twice as much as the average finished square feet of other homes in the region. A home is more likely to be considered a mansion if it has three or four times as much finished square feet as the typical home in the region. There is no specific determination for what is the total square feet of a mansion.
Materials Used For A Mansion
Asking what are mansions made of also brings to mind the materials in a home to determine whether or not it should be considered a mansion. I would expect a mansion to have extraordinary high-end finishes. Here is a list of materials in specific places that are typical for homes considered a mansion.
- Gilded wood work on stair railings
- Solid core wooden doors
- Marble or other stone floor panels
- Solid wood, often mahogany wood, panels lining the walls in certain rooms or hallways
- High quality plumbing fixtures include solid cast tubs
- Real hardwood floors throughout the home
Leisure And Entertainment
Isn’t a mansion all about having your own castle with everything you ever wanted? A mansion should meet your needs by having features which meet your entertainment needs all the while making you the envy of your friends group.
Grand features in homes have changed over the eras. Decades ago the uber wealthy included features like in-door polo arenas or grand ballrooms. Though those are the things of storybooks, today we all dream of having our own entertainment features inside of the home.
Here is a list of more common modern entertainment amenities which can be found in the modern-day mansion:
- Grand pools, indoor or outdoor, or even some of each
- Game courts for tennis, racquetball, or bowling
- Elaborate workout facilities
- A true at-home theater
- Fountains are still in-vogue
- Gaming rooms
The Lot
Everyone wants to ask how big does a house have to be to be a mansion? But don’t forget, the lot, the land the house sits upon, needs to be impressive, too.
The land and the subdivision, if there is one, needs to give the person the feeling they are somewhere special. Somewhere many cannot be but many want to be. Mansion is a word that should not be used lightly or casually. Instead, the word mansion should be meant. Therefore, the lot needs to offer some sense of rarity or something about it that makes it special.
Maybe it is especially landscaped, or the other nearby homes are equally beautiful and prestigious, or the parcel is notably remote and reclusive. Elusive land that many yearn for. This is a part of having a mansion.
Amenities In A Mansion
A mansion is a house with mansion amenities. Everything should be above and beyond what is typical for other homes in the area.
When I think about mansion house accommodation, I imagine a house with lots of bedrooms and bathrooms. Multiple rooms should have an en-suite bathroom. To be a mansion the home must have multiple communal living areas. A formal living room, recreation areas, and a parlor. The kitchen should be fit for preparing a meal for 20 people, and there needs to be a formal dining area for that party, too.
Again, there is no definitive mansion size or must have features for a home to be a mansion. But, for a house to be a mansion, the typical does not apply and everything should just be a little more extra.
How Much Is A Mansion
There is no exact cost of mansion house equation. This is because it is all relative to the cost of houses for sale in a specific area. Instead, I would consider any home costing within the top 3% of all real estate in its area as possibly having mansion status.
However, the top 3% rule can not be blindly applied to all homes. There are plenty of homes that can sell for high prices that no one would think is a mansion. For example, a small home in disrepair on 200 acres of land could sell for mansion level prices in your area but is not a mansion at all.
In conclusion, you are most likely to find homes with mansion-esque features and style by looking at homes priced in the top 3% of all homes in your area.
What Is The Difference Between A Mansion And An Estate?
The only difference between a mansion and an estate is the land size. Yes, in this post I indicated a mansion should have an above average lot. This could be due to the lot’s size, location, or completion with gardens, landscaping, and water features. It is typical to see a modern mansion house on a lot less than one acre in size. On the other hand is an estate.
An estate should have a large amount of land. Seriously large. I would not think of anything as less than 10 acres as being an estate. Typically, an estate will be at the least 25 acres of land. However, there is no true definition for how much land is required for a property to be an estate.
What Is A McMansion?
A McMansion is the tongue-and-cheek developed by consumers to describe large, newer homes built in suburban areas. Typically, the McMansion description comes from the fact that the homes appear oversize for the lot upon which they sit and are closely bunched together with other similar homes. A McMansion is just a large, modern home. However, a McMansion typically does not have the finishes, quality, amenities, or accommodations of a luxury mansion house.
Conclusion
There is no single checkbox to identify a home as a mansion. What makes a house a mansion is all a matter of relative, subjective analysis, and sentiment. Sentiment is hugely important. How did you feel in the home and upon leaving it? That is what makes a mansion.
In the end, a mansion has an “it” factor. It’s all just a little extra compared to anything else.
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