Short answer. The median size of new U.S. single-family homes has grown from approximately 1,500 square feet in 1973 (the earliest reliable data) to 2,191 square feet in 2023 — a 46% increase. Sizes peaked at 2,650 square feet in 2015.
Census Bureau survey data on new-home median square footage begins in 1973. Earlier estimates from FHA loan documentation suggest the 1960s median was likely 1,200-1,400 square feet.
Median new-home size by decade
- 1973: 1,525 sq ft
- 1983: 1,565 sq ft (modest growth through 1970s)
- 1993: 1,945 sq ft
- 2003: 2,140 sq ft
- 2013: 2,478 sq ft
- 2015: 2,650 sq ft (all-time peak)
- 2023: 2,191 sq ft
The size-creep era (1973-2015)
U.S. new-home sizes grew steadily for four decades despite household sizes shrinking from 3.1 (1973) to 2.6 (2015). Drivers included rising real incomes through 1973-2007, federal mortgage-interest deductibility favoring larger homes, suburban land availability, and builder profit-margin economics on larger square footage.
The post-2015 reversal
Since the 2015 peak of 2,650 sq ft, median new-home size has fallen 17% to 2,191 sq ft in 2023. The trend reflects three factors: (1) builder response to affordability pressure with smaller starter homes; (2) Millennial preferences for urban/walkable smaller homes; (3) reduced premium for larger homes in cooling regional markets.
The international comparison
U.S. median new-home size of 2,191 sq ft is roughly 60% larger than UK new-home median (~1,375 sq ft), 25% larger than Australian new-home median (~1,750 sq ft), and 90% larger than the Tokyo new-condo median (~1,150 sq ft).
Sources
U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Construction; National Association of Realtors Existing Home Sales report; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey; National Bureau of Economic Research Business Cycle Dating Committee.