After years of penny-pinching, Jordyn Carias and her partner have finally snagged their first home — but it came with a catch. To stay within budget, they had to think small.
“We had a lot of things we wanted in our first home, but after looking at the price range, we had to reassess,” said Carias, a graphic designer from Muscatine, Iowa, told CNN.
America’s love affair with super-sized everything — from cars to coffee cups — is notorious, and for decades, this obsession extended to homes. But the times are changing. Once upon a time, the American dream meant sprawling McMansions — but now, many are scaling back.
Back in 1973, the average single-family home was a modest 1,525 square feet. Fast forward to 2015, and that number had ballooned to 2,467 square feet.
However, with soaring home prices and a waning interest in oversized spaces, builders are pivoting. Last year, the median new single-family home shrunk to 2,233 square feet, with fewer formal dining rooms and bonus rooms.
Carias and her partner settled for a cozy 920-square-foot abode, using the basement as their main bedroom to make the most of the space.
Alan Ratner, a homebuilder analyst at Zelman & Associates, noted to the outlet, “The broader trend in larger homes had been driven by what consumers wanted and demanded. More recently, we’ve started to see that flip almost out of necessity, because of how challenging affordability is right now.”
A National Association of Homebuilders study from April found that the typical buyer now seeks a 2,067-square-foot home, smaller than the typical new home size last year.
Carias’ new place is nearly a century old, and finding sub-1,000-square-foot homes in the suburbs is increasingly rare. This wasn’t always the case. Jacob Anbinder, a historian at Cornell University, explained that post-war America saw a boom in “Levittown” homes — tiny 750- to 800-square-foot houses that once epitomized suburban living, such as in Levittown on Long Island.
“As many Americans became wealthier over the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, they wanted higher living standards and the larger homes that came with them,” Anbinder added.
But that trend is waning. An NAHB survey revealed that 17% of builders created smaller lot homes in 2023, and 14% increased townhouse construction.
D.R. Horton, the nation’s largest homebuilder, announced it would downsize homes to address affordability. COO Michael Murray reported in July that D.R. Horton’s average house size had dipped by 2% compared to the previous year.
Signs suggest these efforts are helping buyers. In June, the median price of existing homes was $426,900, while new homes averaged $417,300.
Heather Eisenmann, a Tennessee realtor specializing in new builds, observed a trend toward smaller living spaces and practical design choices.
“Three years ago, we were building in a subdivision called Easthaven. Those homes were 2,500 to 3,200 square feet,” she said. “Everything I put on today is under 2,000.”
Eisenmann noted that builders are now cutting costs by omitting luxury items like high-end appliances, fences and window treatments — a move she fears could deter first-time buyers.
“New construction is appealing to a first-time homebuyer because it requires little to no maintenance,” she added. “But when they start looking at new homes that don’t come with all the appliances, most of my first-time homebuyers want to turn to existing homes.”
Despite the downsizing, Carias is thrilled with her under-1,000-square-foot haven. Moving from Sacramento back to her hometown to find something affordable, she feels accomplished.
“Our biggest goal was getting to carve out a tiny little slice of something that is ours and not throw away our money on renting anymore,” Carias said. “I am so excited to paint and do whatever I want.”
