As Home Sizes Shrink, Hallways Are Disappearing

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, large homes dominated, but things are changing. As more buyers prioritize affordability, smaller homes are in high demand, and new-home builders are creating product to meet that need. One way designers are squeezing the most out of the square footage of compact homes is by eliminating hallways to save space, according to real estate listing platform Realtor.com. 

The number of smaller, budget-friendly houses priced between $200,000 and $350,000 has surged, especially in the past five months. In June alone, the availability of homes in this price range increased by 50% compared with the same period last year. A recent U.S. Residential Architecture and Design survey predicts this trend will continue in the future.

Jenni Nichols, vice president of design for John Burns Research and Consulting, who conducted the survey, says that 43% of production residential designers worked on smaller projects last year than the year before.

“And 27% of production residential designers reduced the size of projects they designed last year to save on costs,” she says. “Builders are trying to build homes that people can afford to buy since people have less buying power than they used to.”

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