Downsizing is not just geometry. The future of housing in America.

Lenn, I agree with you. Seniors in my area are looking for first floor bedrooms and amenities of active adult communities but are not willing to buy smaller homes. I have friends who actually bought a much  larger home in a 55plus community.

Hi Lenn,

We are seeing a shift to smaller more energy efficient homes. It's more about quality than quantity. With energy costs continuing to escalate, gas prices still on the rise many are taking a hard look at the cost of maintaining their McMansions. They still want all the bells and whistles but want less to care for. Life styles are so active with places to go, places to see they don't want such a bite out of their monthly nut going to maintaining space they hardly every use. They are buying second homes and scaling down in size their home residence in our area.

Hi Lenn,

Here they (the builders) are still thinking bigger is better. In the latest addition to the Quail Run subdivision the home sizes are staying around 2,400 and higher. And the prices are around 200K plus.

I don't see anything on the active drawing boards to build a "smaller community".

Looks like the bigger home are here to stay for a while.

Have a good day in Virginia.

Best, Clint McKie

Lenn...

Interesting, because real estate is so local. Here in Coweta County GA, foreclosed lots can be purchased under $10K, and the builders are forced to compete with foreclosures. $400K here buys a mansion!

Downsizing is happening with my buyers!  They are all looking for less home - partly due to budget, and partly due to lifestyle choices.  I would hate to be invested in a mcmansion these days...

Good morning Lenn,

Downsizing has not made a large trend in our Dallas market...and for the reasons you state - the smaller homes must still have the high end amenities, and most do not.

This really hut home yesterday as I was sorting our older belongings to give to our college bound kids that will be leaving in a few weeks, We will be empty nesters.

As a retirement location, often folks that are downsizing from their midwest or east or west home MOVE here, but I haven't yet worked with a seller that was moving that direction.  We have several age-restricted communities but even there, square footage can be generous. (3700 sft +)

I took a quick peek at two such neighborhoods and found that of the 119 sold in the past 6 months, 23 were over 2500 square feet, and 6 were under 1600.  I saw a show once on "folding" homes in Japan - amazingly small and versatile.  It certainly would be a different lifestyle.

Hi Lenn - While we have moved to much smaller lots over the last two decades in our market, driven by city and county planners who think that's the way to counter urban sprawl, the actual sizes of the homes keep increasing. And like you, the most readily available small alternative is condos and townhomes.

Lenn, I've always been somewhat baffled by the size of homes some folks seem to need to "be happy".  I'd bet there are rooms in their home that get entered once a month and that's about it.