How the size of homes has changed in last 50 years.

Gita when I was growing up there were 8 people in our home with one bathroom. I swore when I became an adult that I'd never live in a home with less than 1.5 bathrooms. :) 

In the 60's we lived in a small (900sf) house, three bedroom, one bath... six kids.  My sister and I shared our room with the brother of our choice. :-)  

We moved to a larger three bedroom, two bath.  The one bedroom was big, two sets of bunk beds and chests and all four brothers had their place.  My sister and I had a very small room, a bunkbed, dresser and a small bookcase was all that fit.  

Now, most kids have their own room.  Not sure how we survived.  

You couldn't be more correct.  I'll never forget when a single friend of mine said she needed a house at least 2500 sf.  I said "for what".  She thought anything smaller was a "small house".  4 bedrooms and 2500 sf for 1 person???

Hi Gita,

The way I say it is - we used to live OUTSIDE our homes, and homes were small and lots were big.

Now we live INSIDE our homes, and lots are small and homes are big!

Phil

You nailed this one on the head.

We have become spoiled.  2500SF in normal.

Of course, many people have home offices these days, so that warrants an extra room.

My Dad grew up in house with 6 kids, no running water, and I bet it was under 1000SF. 

I think as working from home grows and home schooling grows we may see bigger homes coming back into style.  More practical and less fancy though.

Hi GITA, we can hardly imagine growing up in a 1 bath house with nine people.  But we survived!

Same here Gita, I started in the mid 80's and I'm gonna say nine out of ten homes here were 3BR 1 or 1 1/2 bath ranches, no garages. Now nine out of ten are two stories, with at least 3 BR 2 1/2 baths, bonus room, big kitchen, master BR suite, oh and 2 car garage! I grew up in a family of six, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. Hard to believe!

Our first home was a 4 bedroom 1.5 bath home.  A Dallas luxury home builder recently shared with me that buyers are now requesting smaller homes.  Everything is relative.  That could mean a 5,000 square foot house vs. an 8,000 square foot house, for this particular builder.

Hi Gita,

I agree with your comments about the home sizes. And yes, I do see more and more people choosing smaller homes. People don't want to be tied to constant cleaning and upkeep. Homeowners want to enjoy their lives.

Good morning Gita... It is interesting watching the trend, isn't it and so much is local.  We have 1 car garages here in some of the 55+ communities that are harder to sell.  I think when they were built the thought was that the retired couple may just need 1 car.  Ha.. far from it.   I also  think some of the McMansions came about because the lots were so expensive, the buyer felt like you had to build something big!  Great post and congrats on the feature. 

You aint seen nothin yet. Wait till the 10 thousand per day for the next 20 years (77 million) baby boomers start downsizing. Just might give rebirth to the Manufactured Home Industry.

In the same new subdivisions with houses only a few years different in age spread out thru the area - you can tell the "older" ones immediate when you walk in. Small things like granite counter-tops and more open kitchens. No hole over the fireplace to put your tv in (flat screen just mounts on the flat wall).

Good analysis Gita, people keep getting more stuff and need bigger houses to put it all into, that seems to be the basis for our economy, if this trend stops where will our economy go?

Perfect timing! I was out with a mom who is buying a home for her 24 yr old pregnant, single daughter. Daugter was compaining that the closets were too small. 

I'm thinking, really? Mom is buying you a home and you need more closet space? Really?

Yes, found them a different home, with bigger closets. 

I started my career in New Construction, so it was interesting to watch as the layouts of the models changed to bigger and bigger until the economy went south and then they got smaller.

As profits needed to get bigger, lot sizes became smaller, so homes went vertical.

When I demonstrate today I point out the various options of removing walls or using rooms for other purposes.  Personally I have a pool table in my living room and it has been a lot of fun for kids and parties.

Great Post!  Joy

Good post and good comments. I always learn something from the conversation.