by JAMES R. BARTH, TONG LI, & RICK PALACIOS JR.
The change in home size seems more related to taste. In the last decade, middle-class homebuyers no longer seemed content with the humble bungalows that suited their parents. Grand entryways, spacious master suites, extra bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, media rooms, play rooms — families fell in love with the sheer luxury of these suburban homes on steroids.
What if today’s homes returned to the size expected by the typical U.S. homebuyer 30 years ago? The average new home would have been 722 square feet smaller in 2009. If you consider the average cost per square foot, returning to the expectations of our parents’ generation would have produced a savings of about $80,000 per home in 2009 alone.
Los Angeles Times for more
(Thanks to reader)