Size of New Homes Shrinking in the U.S.

Experts say more builders are building smaller homes to meet demand for cheaper ownership options.

1 minute read

February 25, 2019, 6:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Tiny Home

Jeff Christiansen / Flickr

"For the third year in a row, new homes are shrinking," reports Steve Brown.

Brown is sharing data from the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), along with insight from Rose Quint, a researcher at NAHB who recently presented on the data at the building industry's annual conference in Las Vegas.

According to Quint, homes are getting smaller to help more people afford the cost of buying and owning a home.

"Homes have been downsizing in the past three years," Quint said at the event. "This paints a picture of homebuilders trying to respond to the housing affordability crisis we have in the country."

Still, American homes had room to spare. Preliminary data measures out the average size of a new home 2,576 square feet, down from a peak of 2,700 square feet in 2015.

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