In 1973, the median size of completed single-family homes was 1,525 square feet, according to US Census data. But as the cost of buying a home has exploded and McMansions have fallen out of favor, homebuilders have reversed course, building smaller homes with an eye to first-time buyers. Today, smaller, often more affordable homes under 1,000 square feet are harder to come by in most US suburbs. According to an NAHB survey, 17% of homebuilders said they built homes on smaller lots in 2023 to support home sales, and 14% said they built more townhouses. Smaller homes and fewer amenitiesHeather Eisenmann, a Realtor who specializes in selling new construction in Clarksville, Tennessee, said that she’s noticed that many of the new homes she shows now have smaller bedrooms and living rooms.

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Persons: Jordyn Carias, ”, homebuilders, Alan Ratner, “, we’ve, Levittowns, wasn’t, Jacob Anbinder, ” Anbinder, Levitt, Irving Haberman, Michael Murray, Heather Eisenmann, she’s, ” Eisenmann Organizations: CNN, Zelman, Associates, National Association of Homebuilders, Cornell University, Sons, National Association of Realtors, Census Bureau Locations: Muscatine , Iowa, America, Levittown, New York, Puerto Rico, Real, United States, Horton, Clarksville , Tennessee, Muscatine, Sacramento