Square Footage Shrinks in Response to First-Time Homebuyers

The average home built in 2016 was 2,634 square feet, smaller than homes built the year prior, per recent data by the U.S. Census Bureau. The downsize, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), is in response to first-time homebuyers.
“The data on new home characteristics show a pattern,” says Rose Quint, assistant vice president for Survey Research at the NAHB. “2016 marked the end of an era that began in 2009 when homes got bigger and bigger with more ame