Trulia's American Dream survey shows consumers want larger homes

Trulia's recent American Dream survey revealed consumers are showing some bright glimmers of optimism about the future of the housing market.

According to a Trulia Trends blog post on the findings by the company's chief economist Jed Kolko, Americans seem to be more ready for homeownership, and they're aiming for loftier homes with more square footages.

Those surveyed are also optimistic of home prices increasing back to the levels from before the housing bubble burst.

Harris Interactive conducted the survey online of 2,205 U.S. adults between May 22 and May 24 and 2,230 U.S. adults between June 4 and June 6.

Survey findings include:

• 27 percent of Americans say their ideal home is more than 2,600 square feet, up from 17 percent in 2011
• Only 22 percent of homes currently listed on Trulia are actually more than 2,600 square feet
• Average home construction size increased from 2,392 square feet in 2010 to 2,480 square feet in 2011, according to the U.S. Census
• 61 percent of Americans think home prices in their local market will increase in the next year