August, 2006

Housing Report: Surprise! Homes Get Bigger

The weird house on the block has fewer than three bathrooms.

By Staff Report

Today’s newly-built homes have more bathrooms, more bedrooms, bigger garages and larger floor plans overall than their predecessors of 30 years ago, according to annual data on new-home characteristics released by the U.S. Census Department in June.

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%, according to Jerry Howard, chief executive officer of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Meanwhile, the share of newly built homes with four or more bedrooms has risen steadily from 21% 30 years ago to just shy of 40% last year, he says.

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 sq. ft., up from an average 2,349 sq. ft. in 2004 and just 1,645 sq. ft. in 1975. At 2,556 sq. ft., the Northeast had the largest average new-home size for any region last year. New homes in the Midwest had the smallest square footage, with an average of 2,310 sq. ft.

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 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 were clad in the material.

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 United States, accounting for 67% of the new-homes market in 2005, down from 72% of the market 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 the market (53%).

Increasing ceiling height is an important trend in home design, according to NAHB builder surveys over the years. More than half of all newly built single-family homes in 2004—58%—had 9 ft. or higher ceilings on the first floor. This is up from an estimated 15% of homes 30 years ago.

Another place where homes are gaining space is in the garage. Census data collected since 1991 indicate 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. The typical door for a single-car garage bay used to measure about 7 ft. by 9 ft., but garage doors now are closer to 8 ft. by 10 ft.

New Home Construction Trends 1975-2005

Central Air Conditioning

1975:   46%     2005:   89%

Three or More Bathrooms

1975:   5%       2005:   26%

The portion of homes built with 1.5 bathrooms or fewer has declined from 41% to just 4% since 1975.

Two or Fewer Bedrooms

1975:   14%     2005:   12%

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.

At Least One Fireplace

1975:   52%     2005:   55%

Patios

1992:   37%     2005:   46%

Porches

1992:   42%     2005:   53%

Decks

1992:   37%     2005:   27%

The Northeast was the only region to show an increasing affinity for homes built with decks, recording an 18% gain (from 25% to 43%) since 1992.

One-Storey Homes

1975:   65%     2005:   44%

Two or More Stories

1975:   23%     2005:   55%

Split-Levels

1975:   12%     2005:   <1%

Three-Plus Bay Garages

1991:   10%     2005:   20%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and NAHB