by Calculated Risk on 11/06/2018 02:22:00 PM

An interesting article by Nancy Sarnoff at the Houston Chronicle: Builders shrink home sizes to appeal to more buyers (ht MV)

After years of catering to move-up buyers with substantial budgets, builders are introducing new models with lower price tags and smaller footprints — oftentimes the size of a two-bedroom apartment. They’re doing so by building on smaller lots, skimping on high-end materials, such as granite and brick, and designing floor plans that eliminate formal dining and living rooms, foyers and other spaces that often go unused.
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These developments have helped shrink the size of the average Houston-area home to 2,846 square feet from 3,084 in 2015, according to data from Metrostudy, a consulting firm for the homebuilding industry.
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When the housing market recovered ... builders began targeting buyers who could spend big on large homes. Few offered floor plans under about 1,900 square feet.

CR Note: This is good to see and makes sense. Some smaller homes are a key for further increases in new home sales. It made sense for builders to target higher end homes following the housing bust, but now builders also need to offer more smaller homes and lower prices.