Census Report Reveals Housing Trends

The Census data suggests that added square footage in new houses is in no small part due to the additional bedrooms and bathrooms that homeowners want. The percentage of new homes with two or fewer bedrooms has remained relatively constant during the last 30 years, but the percentage with four or more has shot up. In 1975, just 15% had that many bedrooms; in 2005, more than one-third did.

Bathrooms are enjoying similar popularity. Thirty years ago, almost 50% of the new single-family homes built had 1½ baths or fewer; just 6% were similarly equipped in 2005. The most common is a two-bath household, but houses with three bathrooms or more represent nearly 33% of those completed last year.

“We did a few bathroom remodels [in the 1970s],” Swartz says, “but not many. When we did, it was associated with an addition.” Now, it's a common project for his company. LaPelusa concurs. “Homeowners want a bathroom in every bedroom.”

Size isn't the only thing that has changed in housing over the last 30 years. The past three decades have seen the popularity of some amenities grow, as well as significant changes in materials and other products. “We don't build a house now without air conditioning,” Motsenbocker says. “Thirty years ago, we never built one that had it.”

Indeed, the proliferation of central air conditioning is one of the more marked —though not surprising — changes reflected in the report. In 1975, just 48% of new single-family homes were built with air conditioning; that has skyrocketed as high as 88% in the early stages of the new millennium. Central air was even more prevalent in the steamy South; the Census reported that 100% of the single-family homes completed in that region last year were built with AC.

The report also underscores the shift to vinyl on the exterior of houses. Brick and wood each had about one-third of the exteriors market back in 1975; the former's market share had dropped to one-fifth in 2005, while the latter was used on just 7% of single-family houses completed last year. Vinyl siding wasn't part of this data collection until 1992, but it has gone from 23% to 34% since then.

Not everything has changed — or perhaps more accurately, not everything is different from what it was in the 1970s. Motsenbocker notes that certain housing trends appear to be cyclical. The return to prominence of hardwood floors — which had fallen out of favor with the emergence of carpeting — and the declining popularity of great rooms are two items he cites from his own experiences.

Could the size of houses — the biggest change in housing characteristics over the last 30 years — be the next example of reverting to the past? Kelly thinks so. “The trend of spending money on square footage is over,” he says. Consumers realize “they're better off with a longer-lasting, higher-quality space” than one that's simply bigger. As a result, he has recently been doing more complete renovations of an existing footprint rather than a big addition. Whether this trend carries over to companies across the country remains to be seen, but Kelly credits it to the industry advancing to a point of sophistication where it is the best buy for the client. With lot sizes steadily shrinking and it becoming ever more difficult to secure space and permits for a custom home, it seems plausible.