Do you think homes are getting way too big?

This house is 1,050 sf. I live in half of it; the other half has been closed off, although I have recently considered reopening it just to have someplace different to sit.

Never have lived in a large home. Every time I saw a McMansion for sale, I would think, "I sure wouldn't want to clean that place." And although I am not a Greta, I do try to do my share of using less to reduce my take from Mother Earth. I have, more and more, become a less-is-more person. Need versus want is my mantra these days.
 
Average size of a new house by decade.

US Homes Have Gotten Bigger Over the Years. A Lot Bigger

Average Size of US Homes, Decade by Decade
It's nearly tripled since 1950

24/7 Wall St has a list that shows how the typical American home has changed from 1920 to 2014. And that mainly means the homes have gotten way bigger. The list tracks various stats year by year, including average square feet. Here's a sample, with the figure referring to the average floor area of a new single-family home:
  • 1920: 1,048 square feet
  • 1930: 1,129
  • 1940: 1,177
  • 1950: 983
  • 1960: 1,289
  • 1970: 1,500
  • 1980: 1,740
  • 1990: 2,080
  • 2000: 2,266
  • 2010: 2,392
  • 2014: 2,657
 

Maybe they need bigger homes since a lot of them just want to sit there streaming and looking at their phones while they wait for UPS to deliver everything to them instead of getting out now and then. It's more pleasant to have a lot of space at such times.
 
We took a walk the other day in the most exclusive gated community in our town. They do let people walk there but no cameras allowed. So I used my phone. Its all houses like this and they all have names. This one is called the Long House and belongs to the Mellon family. Their boat house is twice as large as my house. They spend no more than a few weeks a year there.


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Bretrick said:
I am quite ashamed that Australia has the largest average sized homes in the world.
Those who "have made it" are simply showing off and rubbing our noses in it.
Not much left of the egalitarian society Australia purports to be.
Click to expand...

i don't think that is fair. That is what is available, look at the demand for one and two bedroomed homes and flats, they are just not available because they are not being built, those that are available are the same price as a much larger dwelling because of the demand.

Block sizes have shrunk from the standard quarter acre like mine (built 1920s) to about 450 sq metres so the house is now taking up most of the block, there is very little space for children to play, just about enough for a barbie area and a small pool.

What is absurd is that families are getting smaller, children have older parents there are more single people why the large houses? It is abit like Maccas and their upsizing for a dollar, the cost of building a big place is not much different to the cost of building a small place.
 
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I am quite ashamed that Australia has the largest average sized homes in the world.
Those who "have made it" are simply showing off and rubbing our noses in it.
Not much left of the egalitarian society Australia purports to be.
Click to expand...

not neccesarily - if the average size has gone up that doesn't mean it is being driven by the Mcmansions at the top - the average size of many small houses going up would also push up the average
 
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