I was reading an article this week about the most popular cars in the U.S. and how they are shifting from vehicles like large pick-ups and SUV's to smaller vehicles.  Even the perennial sales champions like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are being outsold by small cars like the Honda Civic.

So my thought and question for the day is with people realizing the need to downsize their vehicles to save on gasoline costs, when will that same sort of logic filter down on a large scale to their housing choices?

Large houses take considerably more energy to light, heat, air condition and maintain than their smaller counterparts.  Moving from my larger house to a condo half the size has more than halved my electricity and natural gas costs... a savings much greater than getting a car with better gas mileage would ever do. 

I know that we are seeing more "Green" building, but one of the fastest and least expensive ways to reduce the costs of utilities and construction is to live in smaller spaces that those we have become spoiled with.  Just as people are giving up their large SUV's and gas guzzlers, when will homebuyers start looking to "trade down" from McMansions to reasonably sized homes with lower ceiling heights, better insulation energy efficient systems?

Is it time for people to start looking at this option in the same way they are considering buying Smart Cars, Mini Coopers and Toyota Priuses?