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Started By
Message
re: Average Sq Ft of homes by decade
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:50 am to Auburn80
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:50 am to Auburn80
quote:
For those complaining about housing costs, remember that buying smaller is also an option
smaller houses now are lower income/higher crime areas. you must spend more money (whether you need the size or not) to get your family into a safe area......
1
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:52 am to Auburn80
quote:
For those complaining about housing costs, remember that buying smaller is also an option
Yes, it is. However builders aren’t building 1,000 sqft homes en masse any longer. That’s a custom built home and will still cost you a pretty penny.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:54 am to Oilfieldbiology
quote:
Yes, it is. However builders aren’t building 1,000 sqft homes en masse any longer. That’s a custom built home and will still cost you a pretty penny
They are in many places. Not sure about your neck of the woods, but here in the mid-west that is all they are building. Of course it isn't single family homes. It is townhomes. Lots and lots of townhomes. Townhomes as far as the eye can see these days.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:55 am to tigeraddict
quote:
smaller houses now are lower income/higher crime areas. you must spend more money (whether you need the size or not) to get your family into a safe area......
This right here. There was not as many pieces of shite back in the day carjacking and robbing you. Hence why you can’t move into a crappy DR Horton neighborhood nowadays. You have to purchase something bigger in a better neighborhood.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:55 am to Salmon
quote:
Name them.
Because size and central air are the only things that are "basic" that have changed since the 70s.
70s homes had electricity, plumbing, floors, garages, showers, full kitchens,etc.
Countertops and things of that sort are always referenced but they're small potatoes in terms of total cost, and people ignore the costs of things like appliances and tvs.
For example: an average color television in 1975 cost approximately $350 to $500, which adjusts to roughly $2,000 to over $3,000 in today's money.
Boomers bring up huge 60" TVs as a luxury that you can get for $300, 10% of the cost of TVs 50 years ago
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:55 am to biglego
quote:
My house is 4750 sq ft. Just letting y’all know that.
I have right at 5K of living space between the main house and the guest house. It's too much for my wife and me. I want to downsize soon.
We have been kind of looking, and I think around 2500 would be just right.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:56 am to UKWildcats
quote:
The truth is most would be just fine buying those smaller square foot houses. It's that those neighborhoods have all gone to shite and become ghetto and no one decent wants to live in those neighborhooods.
There aren't enough starter homes being built with realistic sq ft. Developers are building apartments in the same footprint and making a lot more $.
All of this.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:58 am to Oilfieldbiology
Yep.
I mentioned this yesterday, but your Grandma's 1500 sq ft bungalow that was build in the 60s is either in an absurdly expensive hipster neighborhood or the ghetto.
There is no in between.
Which is why a lot of new homebuyers have to go to the giant McMansion neighborhoods, because that is all that is available.
I mentioned this yesterday, but your Grandma's 1500 sq ft bungalow that was build in the 60s is either in an absurdly expensive hipster neighborhood or the ghetto.
There is no in between.
Which is why a lot of new homebuyers have to go to the giant McMansion neighborhoods, because that is all that is available.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 7:58 am to tigerinthebueche
quote:
Now compare “basic amenities” by decade and we can have a rational discussion with all the youngsters bitching about comparative expense and spewing generational hate.
Now compare construction regulations and safety requirements for new homes compared to back in the day and tabulate the incremental increase in costs.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:01 am to UtahCajun
quote:
They are in many places. Not sure about your neck of the woods, but here in the mid-west that is all they are building. Of course it isn't single family homes. It is townhomes. Lots and lots of townhomes. Townhomes as far as the eye can see these days.
So no, it’s not what they are building. A town home complex designed for multi family occupancy is not a single family starter home the likes of what our parents and grandparents had.
It’s financially more lucrative to build apartments, town homes, and bigger houses than single family homes in the 1,000-1,200 sqft size range.
That’s why builders arent building them.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:02 am to Auburn80
Waaaaahhhhhh. I can’t afford a house!!! It’s all Boomers fault!!
Forgets to mention it’s x2 the size with high end kitchen appliances, outdoor kitchen, marble bathrooms, mud room, 2 car garage, and a bunch of other shite Boomers never had.
All while sipping on a $12 coffee with a $1000 phone in their hand.
Forgets to mention it’s x2 the size with high end kitchen appliances, outdoor kitchen, marble bathrooms, mud room, 2 car garage, and a bunch of other shite Boomers never had.
All while sipping on a $12 coffee with a $1000 phone in their hand.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:03 am to UptownJoeBrown
quote:
All while sipping on a $12 coffee with a $1000 phone in their hand.
They just can't help themselves
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:04 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
Countertops and things of that sort are always referenced but they're small potatoes in terms of total cost, and people ignore the costs of things like appliances and tvs.
For example: an average color television in 1975 cost approximately $350 to $500, which adjusts to roughly $2,000 to over $3,000 in today's money.
Boomers bring up huge 60" TVs as a luxury that you can get for $300, 10% of the cost of TVs 50 years ago
So, in that case, would you say that owning something basic, like a TV was harder in 1970 or now?
There are all sorts of angles to this affordability dicussion
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:05 am to UptownJoeBrown
quote:
Forgets to mention it’s x2 the size
Do you think every first time home buyer is contracting a custom build or are they just searching what’s on the market?
quote:
high end kitchen appliances,
Absolute peanuts in the grand scheme of home prices, but ok.
quote:
outdoor kitchen, marble bathrooms, mud room, 2 car garage,
See my first point.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:06 am to Oilfieldbiology
quote:
So no, it’s not what they are building. A town home complex designed for multi family occupancy is not a single family starter home the likes of what our parents and grandparents had
Kinda my point my man. Single family starter homes are going the way of the dodo bird baw.
I mean, in most cities, it is just a reality. Lack of land and growing populations make that a necessity. I do not ever see small, inexpensive starter homes coming back.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:12 am to UtahCajun
quote:All of the starter homes in our neighborhood are being bought up and torn down by large development firms in order to build 2400+ sqft homes.
Kinda my point my man. Single family starter homes are going the way of the dodo bird baw.
I have considered buying my neighbor’s home when they sell and building a 1500-1700 sqft home on it so that not every home around us is some monstrosity.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:12 am to Btrtigerfan
My folk's first house they owned was a Jim Walter Home and they finished a bunch of the inside by themselves. I was too young to help.
A relative wired the house for cost. A relative built the kitchen cabinets.
Had it paid off in less than 4 yrs.
4 bedrooms, but small ones. There were 6 of us.
A relative wired the house for cost. A relative built the kitchen cabinets.
Had it paid off in less than 4 yrs.
4 bedrooms, but small ones. There were 6 of us.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:15 am to Oilfieldbiology
quote:
Absolute peanuts in the grand scheme of home prices, but ok.
Not really. He has a valid point in that the kitchen is easily the most expensive room in the house. Countertops alone are a bare minimum of $4K, and that is with the lower-end 2CM quartz, since no one wants granite anymore.
You can't touch decent all plywood cabinets for less than $5K in a small kitchen. In a decent-sized kitchen, you are closer to at least $10K unless you are OK with presswood sides and drawers
Custom? Try $20K+
I just redid a small kitchen in a flip of mine, and I spent $12K on it alone. The whole remodel only cost $65K for a 1800 sq ft house. That is fresh paint, floors, drywall, siding, fixtures etc. The kitchen was 18% of the budget of a whole-house remodel. The A/C was $10K, so really, without that, the kitchen would have been an even larger % of the whole budget
Kitchens in your grandparents' house weren't 18% of the budget
Downplay it all you want, but kitchens these days are too expensive because you can't get away with Formica and basic low-end cabinets.
This post was edited on 4/23/26 at 8:17 am
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:16 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
Exactly.
And developers don’t build “smaller”.
And the cost to build something small yourself is also out of reach.
quote:
And most smaller houses are in legit terrible areas or BFE away from jobs.
If you are in a suburban / urban area full of good jobs, the competition for houses like the small 2-3 BR ranch style built in the late 50s through early 70s is staggering.
It's what almost every young professional just starting a family wants to buy.
Posted on 4/23/26 at 8:16 am to Auburn80
Our house is right over 1600 sq ft, perfect size for the three of us.
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