Home sizes are shrinking (link)

"The size of new single-family homes completed declined last year, ... according to detailed information ... released recently by the Census Bureau.

After increasing continually for nearly three decades, the average size of single-family homes completed in the United States peaked at 2,521 square feet in 2007. It was essentially flat in 2008, then dropped in 2009, ....

"We also saw a decline in the size of new homes when the economy lapsed into recession in the early 1980s," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "[That] turned out to be temporary, but this time the decline is related to phenomena such as an increased share of first-time home buyers, a desire to keep energy costs down, smaller amounts of equity in existing homes to roll into the next home, ... . "

For more: New Homes Are Still Getting Smaller, and Buyers Are Looking for Single-Story Homes : Trends : News : HGTVPro.com