The American home is shrinking - and gaining appliances

By Les Christie, staff writer August 26, 2010

The American home is shrinking. Toll the bell for the McMansion.

After years of growth, the Census Bureau recently reported that median new home size fell to 2,135 square feet in 2009 after peaking at more than 2,300 earlier in the decade.

“Home buyers are asking for less, cutting back on options and reducing square footage,” said Steven Pace of the North Carolina-based Pace Development Group, which builds both custom and tract houses ranging in price from below $250,000 to more than $2 million.

“They’re saying, ‘Maybe we don’t need that 5,000 square footage;” he said. “‘Maybe our bath doesn’t need to be big enough for our whole family and all our neighbors to take a shower at the same time.’”

Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects, pointed out that consumers don’t ask for as much for spaces devoted to single purposes, such as media rooms for watching videos and game rooms for shooting pool. Instead, the requests are for rooms with shared uses.

(full article on CNNMoney.com)

As a buyer, would you be willing to go for a home that is not as large if it has the proper amenities/appliances? (If so, what would the “proper amenities/appliances” be?) Sellers, is your home a “McMansion,” a smaller home loaded with appliances, or somewhere in between? Agents, what trends have you noticed in your area?