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In 1950 the average size of a hew home was 983 square feet. By 2004, the average size of a new home had expanded to 2,349 square feet – a 140 percent increase in size. Then along came the super-sized 3,000 plus square foot homes that were dubbed McMansions. Words used to describe these homes included pretentious, tacky, lacking style and tasteless. They became viewed as out of character with the neighborhoods where they were built. The construction was often substandard, the yards minuscule and prices outrageous. Today, there is an ongoing shift away from these homes. They are now seen as symbols of waste, poor taste and greed.
The recession has had a lot to do with this shift in preference as potential homebuyers opt for smaller homes. A recent survey revealed that only nine percent of the respondents viewed the ideal home as over 3,200 square feet, while 64 percent considered a home between 800 and 2,000 square feet an appropriate size. These buyers are looking for older, smaller homes – even fixer up homes – that have character and are located in established neighborhoods closer to work. Another trend is also forcing McMansions out – new zoning regulations. Many communities are enacting zoning laws to exclude houses over a certain square footage and close together..
There is a concern that this trend will only last until the economy fully recovers and that Americans will return to buying inreasingly larger homes. It is part of the same dangerous and irresponsible behavior that brought on the housing industry’s near collapse.