Ending a five-year dip, single-family homes are 19% larger today than they were in 1999.
By Manuel Gutierrez, Consulting Economist to NKBA
It used to almost be a given that house sizes would increase year after year, with exceptions occurring only during economic recessions or times of economic uncertainty, when consumers were forced to pull back. However, as soon as uncertainty dissipated, consumers reverted to purchasing larger homes.
Thus, the average size of single-family homes rose from 2,248 square feet in 1999, the earliest date for which there is comparable data, to 2,736 by 2015, a gain of 526 square feet in those 15 years. Figure 1 reveals the pattern, with a dip during the 2008-2009 recession, when house size fell from 2,528 square feet in 2007 to 2,362 square feet by 2010.
Although there wasn’t a recession between 2015 and 2020, the size of single-family homes also fell during those years, bucking the earlier trend. This year has been the exception, however, as house sizes registered a marginal increase of 49 square feet to 2,522.
The average single-family home has grown in size by nearly 20% over the past two decades.
In contrast to single-family homes, the average size of multifamily housing units fell in the first quarter of this year to 1,048 square feet. Economic conditions and strong demand generally determine whether builders offer larger or smaller multifamily units. Such was the case around 2015, when multifamily units averaged 1,247 square feet. Additionally, strong demand for condominiums will drive construction of larger units, such as in the period from 2005 to 2007, when condos accounted for 37% of all multifamily units. Currently, only 5% of units are built for condominium purposes.
Regionally, the largest single-family houses are in the Northeast, where the average unit this year measured 2,849 square feet (Figure 2.) This is more than 300 square feet larger than the national average.
The median size in this region (shown by the dot in the middle of each bar) is also close to 300 feet larger than the national median of 2,284 square feet.
Single-family houses in the Midwest and the South are nearly equivalent in size to each other. The smallest new single-family homes are in the West, with an average of 2,439 square feet this year. This is almost 100 square feet smaller than the national average.
On the multifamily side, the largest units are built in the South, with an average of 1,107 square feet. Just under a quarter of new multifamily houses built in the South are in Florida, a state where there is a greater preponderance of condominiums, which lifts the average higher.
The size of multifamily houses in the other three regions are very similar. Although the smallest units are built in the Midwest, at 984 square feet on average, that is just 19 square feet smaller than those in the Northeast.
On a long-term basis, compared to 1999, single-family houses today are 19% larger nationally, with large regional differences.
The biggest increase is in the Northeast (Figure 3), where new single-family homes today are 26% larger.
This is followed by the Midwest, where homes have grown by 18% — a percentage point below the national average.
Houses in the South are 14% larger today, with the West — which is not only last in average home size, but also has grown the least — registering a gain of just 9% since 1999.
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