Average Sq Ft of homes by decade

You aren’t wrong. People want their McMansions and like to get those massive SUVs too.

My grandparents had a house in an older section of town, pier and beam foundation, probably 1300 square feet. It was a cozy place, and the back den was a great place to watch a ballgame with the grandparents.

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to think all those familys had 5-10 kids in them small arse houses

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Not only did you not get your own room, you didn't always get your own bed.

To share a bathroom meant you got up before the rooster most days.

My house is 4750 sq ft. Just letting y’all know that.

I'm also curious about average lot size

Our house is right around 2500 sq ft and was built in the late 60s... we bought it in 2009 and it's still the largest house in the neighborhood. With them having kids later, millennials don't need big starter houses but so many of them want what Gen X has elevated to.

Our village is not shy about their disdain for people like my wife and I who are in no hurry to downsize. Constant whining about school enrollment falling and young families not having homes to buy. Sorry not sorry.

People are much wider now too so they need the extra space

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Average Sq Ft of homes by decade

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Hot damn you mean that the numbers from the other thread about houses being unaffordable compared to 1971 are total bullshite?

And you can basically get two houses for your money now compared to 60 years or so ago?

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My house is 4750 sq ft. Just letting y’all know that.

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Yeah, but you know, it's not the size that matters; it's how you use it.

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Give me an updated, expanded 70s ranch house any day.

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You need to be before the dreaded "split level"

Say post WWII to early 70's ranch?

Great house to grow old in.

Smaller size
No steps
BR's on one side, kitchen & garage on the other, middle for gathering.

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Part of the cost problem is people demanding bigger homes.

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The cost problem is the cost of construction itself.

The companies building the homes have increased the sizes over time.

People don’t design and build their own homes.

But let’s look into that. Why don’t we design and build a house in this thread.

LINK

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The average cost of constructing a new home was $428,215 in 2024, the highest level recorded by NAHB since it began its annual cost surveys in 1998. This equates to around $162 per square foot of finished floor space, with the average home spanning 2,647 square feet in 2024.

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Now that $162/sqft is based off of the 2,647 sqft average home. If the average home size fell, the cost per sqft would likely increase to compensate.

If we use that number, we can get the following:

1000 sqft home - ~$162,000

1500 sqft home - ~$243,000

2000 sqft home - ~$324,000

By the way, that doesn’t even address the cost to purchase land to build the home on.

If you can live very rural, that can be cheap, but for most urban and suburban regions, the land will be expensive per acre, not to mention the costs associated with tearing down the previous home, clearing the land of trees, etc.

In summary, for the average 1500 sqft home that existed in the 70s, the cost would start at ~$200-240,000 just to build the home, and could easily exceed $300k depending on land.

And that is just with the assumption that the cost per sqft wouldn’t go up as the home size declines.

So, why don’t people just build a home?

Because it is also expensive as frick and time consuming.