Key Takeaways:
- Single-family homes grow for each of the four regions, averaging 2,541 feet for the third quarter.
- Regionally, the largest homes are in the Northeast, at 2,822 square feet, with the Midwest lagging, at 2,429.
- Average multifamily units fall to their smallest size ever, 1,053 square feet
By Manuel Gutierrez, Consulting Economist for NKBA
The latest data on the size of new homes reveals that while multifamily housing units continue to shrink, single- family homes are larger for the second consecutive year. This is in line with the findings from the NKBA 2022 Design Trends study, as kitchens and baths are both expected to grow over the near future. This of course bodes well for the K&B industry as remodels become more extensive.
The size of single-family homes grew to 2,541 square feet in the third quarter, 62 square feet larger than in 2020. During the last two years, the trend of decreasing house size that had been in place since the peak of 2,701 square feet in 2013, finally reversed. (Figure 1.)
The historical pattern has generally been one of ever-increasing house size until 2013.
In contrast to the growth trend of new single-family homes, multifamily housing units are smaller again this year.
The average size of a multifamily unit fell to 1,053 square feet, the smallest ever.
Following a six-year trend of shrinking house sizes, the last two years have seen a reversal, which is impacting kitchens & baths.
Although that is just 20 square feet smaller than last year, housing units in multifamily buildings have fallen by 115 square feet over the last 21 years. Multifamily housing units have always been smaller than single family, since the vast majority are built for rental purposes.
New single-family houses are larger this year in each of the four U.S. regions (Figure 2). The biggest new homes are being built in the Northeast, at an average of 2,822 square feet, 281 square feet larger than the U.S. average. Single-family homes in this region are 4.6 percent above last year.
At the other extreme, the smallest new homes are found in the Midwest. At an average of 2,429 square feet, they are 112 square feet smaller than the U.S. The average.
Single-family houses in the other two regions are closer to the U.S. average. Those in the South are 3 percent larger this year, averaging 2,556 square-feet, while those in the West show a modest 1.5 percent increase to 2,497 square feet.
For multifamily, house size fell in three of the four U.S. regions. The exception was the Midwest where the typical unit is 7.1 percent bigger than last year, at 1,088 square feet. That’s slightly larger than the U.S. average of 1,053 square feet.
The biggest drop in house size is in the West, which posts 6.2 percent smaller homes. The average is just 981 square feet.
The northeast, which boasts the largest single family home size, has the smallest multifamily units. The primary reason is that the majority of multifamily units are within developments in high density metro areas such as New York and Boston, where small units predominate. The average multifamily house size in the Northeast fell by 5.8 percent to 929 square feet.
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