Well, here we go with another everything old is new again story. This time it’s about the size of the average American home.
The homes most of us, certainly my generation, grew up in were small relative to the average family home today. We shared bedrooms and bathrooms, and the whole family sat together in the only family living room to watch the only family TV. According to the census data, some of that is coming back.
Census data shows that the median square footage of floor area for new construction single-family homes in the U.S. peaked at 2,519 during the first quarter of 2015. This has since dropped 13% to 2,191 as of the second quarter of 2023. But don’t think that because the amount of square footage has been declining the cost is also declining. According to John Burns Research and Consulting, the cost per square foot has accelerated to 13% in 2021 and 10% in 2022.
So, what are the builders eliminating from their newly-built properties to produce tighter, more efficient living spaces? First, they are axing dining areas, bathtubs and separate living rooms. Secondary bedrooms and loft spaces are shrinking and frequently disappearing. Much of this downsizing is the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and everyone’s focus is on saving energy and conserving our natural resources.
To compensate for the lack of formal dining and living rooms, they are increasing the size of multi-use rooms like kitchens and great rooms. Some families are opting to use the kitchen island as the primary dining area and expand their outdoor space for entertaining. Shared bathrooms are back in style and bathtubs with all the water jets and seating areas are gone along with the extra expense of building them.
Since formal dining is gone, so is the formal dinnerware, glassware, starched linens and the glass-faced cabinets formerly used to store them and show them off. Your grandmother would not be happy. Instead, builders are giving their customers more practical storage for wine racks, appliance drawers and roll-out shelving.
Unfortunately, most of this type of downsizing is not helping the prices. The overall price may be less, but the price per square foot is not, so you’re paying more for less. Nevertheless, first-time homebuyers are likely happy with the compromise just to be able to get into a home.
Home size may be shrinking but you would never know it riding around Anna Maria Island.
The new construction homes look bigger than ever, and they are. However, these multi-bedroom fun palaces are not designed for families to live in, they’re designed for investment owners to rent. Homes on the Island are being repurposed and converted into rental properties at the expense of owners who are either full-time or seasonal.
Rest assured, Anna Maria Island is not alone in the world with this problem. A recent article I read talks about Venice, Italy being out of control with tourists chasing out residents from the island city. Venice’s resident population is in steady decline, dropping below 50,000 last year for the first time in more than three centuries. This is down from 66,000 two decades ago and 175,000 in the early 1950s.
Smaller homes with fewer bedrooms and baths may not be happening on Anna Maria Island, but families who live in less of a tourist area are reconsidering their priorities. You may not like the demographic change for the Island but at least we’re in good company.
