"The incredible shrinking home"

For several years I've been reading reports that new homes were getting smaller, but, quite honestly, have seen little---if any---evidence of it. Now information from the U.S. Census Bureau supports the claim. New homes are now 7% smaller---the average size of one room---shrinking for the first time in 15 years. To be exact, the median square footage of newly built homes fell to 2,065 square feet in the first quarter of '09 compared to the first quarter of '08. In 2008 home size fell every quarter, the first year of declines since 1994.

In a report posted on CNNMoney.com, Sarah Susanka, author of "The Not So Big House", compares the current shrinking trend to one of 100 years ago when "simple bungalows supplanted elaborate Victorian homes as the design choice for many Americans". Susanka goes on to say that if you use a room less than 6 times a year, you don't need it. Or consider making it do double duty, such as a dining room/library.

"Houses are likely to become better tailored to the way we actually live," Susanka says. "As more and more people build or remodel homes that satisfy in quality rather than quantity, there will be a huge shift in what we perceive as desirable."

According to Steve Melman, director for economic services for the National Association of Homebuilders, some of the practical reasons that favor smaller homes are affordability, energy costs, tight credit for big mortgages and aging boomers who have become empty nesters and are downsizing.

And a bit of trivia, Sarah Susanka moved to Raleigh several years back. As far as I know, she still lives here.