Benefits of Building a Small Home
If you are shopping for a home, you have most likely walked through some of the ‘McMansions’ that are currently on the market. During the most recent housing boom, thousands of these track-built monstrosities were ‘thrown-together’ and sold for top dollar.
With the economic collapse of the late 2000’s came a wave of foreclosures and plummeting real estate prices, in effect lowering the selling prices of these lavish homes and making them a viable investment for the average American.
Now that these large homes, which have become the ‘American Dream’, are finally within your reach, should you consider buying one? Do you really want to commit to living in a home that is 2,500 SF or more and the financial burden that comes with it?
The ‘Small Home’ movement has been growing rapidly in the aftermath of the recent economic decline and the benefits of this movement have been championed by best-selling author Susan Susanka beginning with her book “The Not So Big House”.
While the popularity of this movement has grown in recent years, the concept is far from new. Historically, smaller homes were the norm in the United States and have always been the norm in Europe and Asia. The average American home in 1950 was just less than 1,000 square feet, while in 2004 the average was about 2,400 square feet. This gigantic increase in living space is a direct result of the rapid rise in wealth that blanketed the US during the economic boom. Recent data proves that the average size of new homes is dropping once again and it makes you ask yourself, should I buy a smaller home?
The Benefits First you must analyze the benefits of building a smaller home and determine whether they outweigh your ‘need’ for space. The list of benefits …
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