A Reality Check On Home Size

"For years, the building industry has produced bigger and bigger homes. Consumer expectations, easy credit and greater profit potential have resulted in new houses with more rooms, larger garages, increased volume and, of course, higher price tags.

Consumers, after all, seek to consume. Why settle for three bedrooms, two baths and a one-car garage? Why not opt for a kitchen big enough to entertain several guests and roast two turkeys at once? Why wouldn't someone want a house with a separate room for every function? How can anyone live without a dedicated audio-video entertainment space, multiple walk-in closets and a master bathroom larger than the rarely used dining room?

Today's housing-market paradox is that while houses have been expanding, households have been shrinking. In suburban houses built during recent decades, fewer people occupy more space.

This trend's lack of sustainability seems to finally be apparent."