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 2.71 percent in 2019, down slightly from 2.88 percent in 2018. A total of 24,000 5,000+ square-foot homes were started in 2019, compared to 25,000 in 2018. 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 2020.

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 24,000 5,000+ square feet home started in 2019 include the following: 82 percent have a finished basement, 80 percent have a porch, 70 percent have 4 bathrooms or more, 64 percent have a 3-or-more car garage, 60 percent have a patio, 60 percent have a community association and 57 percent have 5 bedrooms or more.

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