The Wall Street Journal
It’s a strange time for houses to get bigger. The housing bust was followed by sharp criticisms of excesses such as McMansions and started a movement toward tiny houses. Combined with America’s aging, “empty nester” population, increasing environmental concerns and smaller household sizes, you might think the U.S. would want to build smaller houses. We haven’t.
As of the last Census, the median house was 2,384 square feet—in between the sizes of a single and a doubles tennis courts. That’s up from 1,525 square feet in 1970, with a rise punctuated only by a brief stall during the recession. Over the last decade the median house size has increased on average about 25 square feet per year, and the share of new homes with 4+ bedrooms and 3+ full baths is going up. Why are new houses still getting bigger?
