How Single-Family Home Sizes Have Shifted

Trends
Published

According to first quarter 2022 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area inched down to 2,310 square feet. Average (mean) square footage for new single-family homes decreased to 2,512.

An expected impact of the virus crisis is a need for more residential space, as people use homes for more purposes, including work.

Since the Great Recession lows (and on a one-year moving average basis), the average size of new single-family homes is now 6.3% higher at 2,537 square feet, while the median size is 10% higher at 2,318 square feet.

NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz provides a forecast for changes in home sizes in this Eye on Housing post.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Economics

Dec 01, 2025

Property Taxes on Homes Tick Up in 2024 Led by New Jersey

The average annual residential property tax bill for the 87 million owner-occupied homes in the U.S. was $4,271 in 2024, up about 4% from 2023, according to NAHB Economics team analysis of the 2024 American Community Survey.

Workforce Development

Nov 28, 2025

How You Can Support Workforce Development on Giving Tuesday

To help give students the tools they need to build their career in the construction industry, Home Builders Institute (HBI) is participating in Giving Tuesday on Dec. 2.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Dec 01, 2025

About 7% of New Homes Are Teardowns

In 2024, 6.9% of new single-family detached homes were teardowns (structures torn down and rebuilt in older neighborhoods), and another 20.1% were built on infill lots in older neighborhoods, according to the latest Builder Practices Survey (BPS) conducted by Home Innovation Research Labs.

Economics

Nov 26, 2025

Property Taxes by State – 2024

Nationally, across the 87 million owner-occupied homes in the U.S., the average amount of annual real estate taxes paid in 2024 was $4,271, according to NAHB analysis of the 2024 American Community Survey.

Economics

Nov 25, 2025

Share of New Homes with Decks Edges Lower

The share of new homes with decks edged down from 17.6% in 2023 to a new all-time low of 17.4% in 2024, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the HUD/Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC).