According to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction, the share of new homes started with 5,000 square feet or more of living space stood at 2.88 percent in 2018, down slightly from 3.08 percent in 2017. A total of 25,000 5,000+ square-foot homes were started in 2018, compared to 26,000 in 2107.   The slight decline in 5,000+ square foot homes is consistent with the slight downward trend in the median and average size of new single-family homes that, as the quarterly published statistics have shown, continues into 2019.

In 2015, the number of 5,000+ square feet homes started was the highest since 2007, and their share of the new market was the highest since the inception of the series in 1999. In the boom year of 2006, 3.0 percent or 45,000 new homes started were 5,000 square feet or larger. In 2007, the share of new homes that large increased to 3.6 percent while the total number that year fell to 37,000. In 2008, only 20,000 such homes were started, or 3.2 percent of the total. From 2009 to 2012, the number of these large homes started remained well under 20,000 a year, accounting for less than 3 percent of single-family construction during this period.

The characteristics of the 25,000 5,000+ square feet home started in 2018 include the following: 76 percent have a finished basement, 75 percent have a porch, 69 percent have a 3-or-more car garage, 62 percent have a patio, 60 percent have a community association, 55 percent have 5 bedrooms or more; and 74 percent have 4 bathrooms or more.

Tags: economics, eye on the economy, home building, housing, single-family housing, starts