New Home Size Reaches All-Time High in 2005
Posted by David Bennett Mon, 26 Jun 2006 22:44:00 GMT
New Home Size Reaches All-Time High in 2005
The average size of a new home climbed to a record high last year, according to annual data on new-home characteristics released by the U.S. Census Bureau last month, and in terms of amenities the distance between homes built today and homes built 30 years ago continued to widen.
“Between 1975 and 2005, the portion of new homes built with central air conditioning has risen 43%, while the portion of homes built with fewer than two bathrooms has fallen from 41% to just 4%,” noted Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). “Meanwhile, the share of newly built homes with four or more bedrooms has risen steadily from 21% three decades ago to just shy of 40% last year.”
The statistics, along with NAHB research on several additional trends, provide a snapshot of changing aspects of home design over the past 30 years, including the continued expansion of new-home size through 2005.
The average floor area in a newly built home last year reached an all-time high of 2,434 square feet — up from an average 2,349 square feet in 2004 and just 1,645 square feet in 1975. The Northeast had the largest average new-home size for any region last year, at 2,556 square feet. New homes in the Midwest had the smallest square footage, with an average of 2,310 square feet.
Vinyl Siding on the Rise
The report also revealed important trends in the type of exterior wall material used for newly completed houses. In general, the use of brick and wood exteriors has declined as stucco and vinyl siding have become more popular through the years — with vinyl siding now the most-used wall exterior.
Brick exteriors on newly built homes declined from 32% to 20% of the market between 1975 and 2005, while wood exteriors declined from 36% to 7%.
Meanwhile, use of stucco as an exterior wall material went from 10% of new homes in 1975 to 22% in 2005 and use of vinyl siding, which was previously not broken out in the Census data, went from 23% of homes in 1992 to 34% in 2005. Vinyl siding is particularly popular in the Northeast, where 83% of newly built homes last year had the material.
Despite the data on brick, it is still not hard to find when driving through newly built communities, Howard said.
“Brick is still very popular as an exterior material in many areas,” he said, “but primarily because of the high cost of labor, builders have increasingly limited its use to the front of the home. The Census data only reflects the exterior material that’s on more than 50% of a home’s surface area.”
Blowing Hot Air
The data also show evidence of the increasing popularity of heat pumps versus conventional warm air furnaces, particularly in the South.
Overall, warm air furnaces remain the most popular heating systems in the U.S. — accounting for 67% of the new-homes market in 2005, down from 72% of the market back in 1975. The decline in that market appears entirely due to construction practices in the South, where use of warm air furnaces fell from 82% of new homes to 47% over the past 30 years, and where heat pumps now command more than half of the market (53%).
An important trend in home design that’s been highlighted by NAHB builder surveys over the years is increasing ceiling height. More than half of all newly built single-family homes in 2004 — 58% — had nine-foot or higher ceilings on the first floor. This was up from an estimated 15% of homes 30 years ago.
Garages are another place where home buyers are providing extra space. Census data collected since 1991 indicates that the percentage of homes built with garages for three or more cars has doubled, from 10% in 1991 to 20% in 2005.
Meanwhile, NAHB data reveal that garage-door sizes are expanding to accommodate the increasing size of vehicles like SUVs that owners are parking in those spaces. The typical door for a single-car garage bay used to measure about 7 by 9 feet, but the trend is now moving toward 8- by 10-foot garage doors.
What has shrunk over the years is lot size, which Census data shows has dropped from a median of about 10,000 square feet in 1990 to 8,500 square feet today. Nevertheless, because of the rising cost of developed lots, said Howard, the share of home price that can be attributed to the lot on which that home is built hasn’t changed — it’s still about 25%.
Among important trends revealed in the Census report:
Central Air Conditioning
- Between 1975 and 2005, the percentage of homes built with AC went from 46% to 89%.
- 100% of newly built homes in the South came with central AC in 2005.
Bathrooms
- As of 2005, just over one quarter of newly constructed homes (26%) were built with three or more bathrooms — up from an estimated 5% in 1975.
- The portion of homes built with 1.5 bathrooms or less has declined from 41% to just 4% over the past 30 years.
Bedrooms
- The percentage of new homes built with two bedrooms or less has changed little since 1975, dropping from 14% to 12% last year.
- The greatest percentage of new homes are still built with three bedrooms (as has been the case for the past three decades), but the portion of homes built with four or more bedrooms has risen steadily from 21% in 1975 to 39% in 2005.
Fireplaces
- The proportion of new homes built with at least one fireplace has barely increased over the past three decades, going from 52% to 55%.
Outdoor features
- Statistics collected as far back as 1992 indicate a growing trend toward including porches and/or patios in new-home designs and a decline in the share of homes built with decks.
- Between 1992 and 2005, the proportion of newly built homes with patios increased from 37% to 46%, while the proportion of new homes with porches rose from 42% to 53%. Over the same time frame, the share of homes built with decks declined from 37% to 27%.
- The Northeast was the only region to show a growing affinity for homes built with decks, recording an 18% gain in this amenity (from 25% to 43%) since 1992.
Number of stories
- The proportion of one-story newly built homes has declined from 65% in 1975 to 44% in 2005.
- Meanwhile, the proportion of newly built homes with two or more stories has increased from 23% to 55%.
- The use of “split level” designs has been virtually eliminated, with split levels dropping 12% of the new-homes market in 1975 to less than 1% in 2005.
For more detailed information on the characteristics of new housing, click here.
