Beating a Seemingly Dead Horse

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In a previous post, I described the reality of our shortage of affordable housing.  I said there were solutions and advised you, the reader, to “Stay tuned.”

The seemingly dead horse is housing size. In contemporary America, there is broad consensus that a house should be a certain size…say 2000 – 2500 square feet. In fact, according to the U.S. Census, in 2020 the median size of a newly built house was 2,333 square feet and the median selling price was $336,900 (the average price was $391,900).

So, is this reality “settled law?” Is the idea of smaller housing a “dead horse?”

If so, it has not always been that way, and most of the world have a different reality.

In 1950, the average house size of a newly built house was 983 square feet.  By 1970, it had increased to 1,500 square feet. 2020: 2,333 square feet. And the average family size, between 1950 and today has dropped from 3.54 persons in 1950 to 3.23 persons today. But more accurately, the U.S. Census reports that the average household size has dropped from 3.37 to 2.5 in the same period!  Smaller families and much larger houses.

Looking at size around the world the picture is clear: 

Australia2554 sq. ft.

U.S.2,333

Japan2,033

Canada1919

Denmark1,489

Greece1,370

Netherlands1,261

France1228

Germany1,185

Ireland953

Sweden902

United Kingdom826

And this data represents just the fully developed world. In much of the world, dwellings are tiny, 200-300 square feet.

So, what’s the point?

Clearly, one way to create affordability is to build smaller, less costly, houses. But why aren’t we?

Stay tuned.

-Paul Schreiner

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