Not too long ago, it was common for families of four or five to share a single bathroom in a house that had only two bedrooms, no garage and less than 1,000 square feet of total space. Central air-conditioning was a luxury.
Today, even moderately priced houses have all kinds of amenities. A study by the National Association of Home Builders finds that among new houses built last year:- Eighty percent have central air-conditioning.
- Seventy-six percent have a garage for two or more cars.
- Forty-eight percent have 21/2 baths or more.
- Only 10 percent are 1,200 square feet or less, while 28 percent have 2,400 square feet or more. The median is 1,920 square feet.
The new housing market has changed a lot even in the past 10 years, the builders found. In 1985, just 29 percent of new single-family houses had 21/2 baths or more.
"One of the reasons new homes today are so much bigger than 10 years ago is the abundance of move-up buyers in the marketplace," said Home Builders president Randy Smith. "Over the past decade, baby boomers, who are generally older and more affluent, have come to dominate the trade-up market and they want larger homes with more conveniences and amenities."
The builders, who based their study on Census figures, also found that some trends appear to have peaked. In 1985, only 18 percent of new houses had four or more bedrooms; by 1993, the figure had risen to 30 percent, but it has not changed since then.
While buyers everywhere expect a lot of amenities in a new house, there are still regional differences. For example, basements are found in only 17 percent of new houses in the South and 21 percent in the West. But 86 percent of new houses in the Northeast have a basement, as do 79 percent in the Midwest.
The desire for a garage also varies by region, being strongest in the Midwest, in 84 percent of new houses, and in the West, where 89 percent of houses built in 1995 included a garage. Builders say Westerners want garages because so few have basements and they use garages for storage as well as sheltering cars.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
New homes they are a-changin'
The following chart shows how much new houses have changed in the last quarter-century:
1971 1995
Central air 36 percent 80 percent
2-1/2 or more baths 15 percent 48 percent
4 or more bedrooms 24 percent 30 percent
1 or more fireplaces 36 percent 63 percent
Full or partial basement 36 percent 39 percent
Slab 38 percent 42 percent
No garage or carport 26 percent 14 percent
Garage for 2 or more cars 39 percent 76 percent
1 story 73 percent 49 percent
2 or more stories 17 percent 48 percent
1,200 sq. ft. or less 36 percent 10 percent
2,400 sq. ft. or more 9 percent 28 percent
Median sq. ft 1,375 1,920