After years of pennies, Jordyn Carias and her partner finally got their first home — but it came with a catch. To stay within budget, they had to do some thinking.
“We had a lot of things we wanted in our first home, but after looking at the price range, we had to reevaluate,” Carias, a graphic designer from Muscatine, Iowa, told CNN.
America’s love affair with all things large – from cars to coffee cups – is notorious, and for decades, this obsession extended into the home. But times are changing. Once upon a time, the American Dream meant the proliferation of McMansions—but now, many are shrinking.
In 1973, the average single-family home was 1,525 square feet. Fast forward to 2015, and that number had grown to 2,467 square feet.
However, with rising home prices and a waning interest in large spaces, builders are pivoting. Last year, the average new single-family home shrank to 2,233 square feet, with fewer formal dining rooms and bonus rooms.
Carias and her partner settled on a cozy 920-square-foot abode, using the basement as their master bedroom to make the most of the space.
Alan Ratner, a homebuilder analyst at Zelman & Associates, noted to the media, “The broader trend in larger homes has been driven by what consumers want and demand. Lately, we’ve started to see that flip almost out of necessity, because of how challenging affordability is right now.”
A National Association of Home Builders survey from April found that the typical buyer is now looking for a home of 2,067 square feet, smaller than the typical new home size last year.
Caria’s new place is almost a century old, and finding houses under 1,000 square meters in the suburbs is increasingly rare. It wasn’t always like that. Jacob Anbinder, a historian at Cornell University, explained that postwar America saw a boom in “Levittown” homes — small 750- to 800-square-foot homes that once epitomized suburban living, like Long Island’s Levittown.
“As many Americans became wealthier during the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, they wanted higher standards of living and the bigger homes that came with them,” Anbinder added.
But this trend is fading. A NAHB study found that 17% of builders created smaller homes in 2023 and 14% increased construction of townhomes.
DR Horton, the nation’s largest homebuilder, announced it will downsize homes to address affordability. COO Michael Murray reported in July that DR Horton’s average household size was down 2% compared to last year.
Signs suggest these efforts are helping shoppers. In June, the median price of existing homes was $426,900, while new homes averaged $417,300.
Heather Eisenmann, a realtor in Tennessee specializing in new construction, noticed a trend toward smaller living spaces and practical design choices.
“Three years ago, we were building in a subdivision called Easthaven. Those houses were 2,500 to 3,200 square feet,” she said. “Everything I’m wearing today is under 2,000.”
Eisenmann noted that builders are now cutting costs by ditching luxury items like high-end appliances, fences and window treatments — a move she fears could deter first-time buyers.
“New construction is attractive to a first-time home buyer because it requires little or no maintenance,” she added. “But when they start looking at new homes that don’t come with all the amenities, most of my first-time buyers want to go back to existing homes.”
Despite the downsizing, Carias is thrilled with her sub-1,000-square-foot paradise. Moving from Sacramento to her hometown to find something affordable, she feels accomplished.
“Our biggest goal was to carve out a little piece of something that’s ours and not throw our money away on rent,” Carias said. “I’m very excited to paint and do whatever I want.”
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Image Source : nypost.com
