In a recent market trend report by Zillow, data shows that U.S. homes are getting bigger, but the lot sizes are shrinking. The median size of single-family homes in the U.S. has grown 24 percent since 1990, from about 2,100 square feet in 1999 to about 2,600 square feet at the end of 2014. In relation to this, the median lot size has decreased by about 10 percent since the late 1990s, from about 9,600 square feet in 1999 to about 8,600 square feet at the end of 2014. In this past year, there is a little below two feet of yard space for every foot inside the home.
It’s an interesting concept that US homebuyers and even homebuilders are catering to the idea of a smaller lot and yard size. What can we attribute to this change? Is it the homebuyer market driving demand? In an era of the millennials, function and space seem to reign supreme in the eye of home design. Buyers love a kitchen with a little bit of extra square footage, or a bathroom that provides the ideal his and her amenities, and they are willing to except the tradeoff of a smaller yard.
In the second graph, notice that Texas, among other southern states and much of the east coast, are trending towards the smaller lot size.
