Home Sizes on the Rise
With so much interest in tiny homes and urban living, it may come as a bit of a surprise that new homes are actually increasing in size. According to a study by Furniture Today and the US Census Bureau, the average home built in 2014 was 2,657 square feet, a 2.3% increase over 2013's 2,598 square feet. Of the 620,000 new homes built in 2014, 45% of them had 4 or more bedrooms, 36% had 3 or more bathrooms, and 31% were over 3,000 square feet.
While the average home size for the entire country is increasing, it is interesting to note that different regions are growing at different rates. Leading the pack is the Midwest which experienced 7.3% increase in size last year and a 13.6% increase since 2010. However, despite such large growth, especially in the last year, the Midwest still has the smallest homes in the country. The average new home in the Midwest last year was 2,574 square feet, up from 2,398 square feet in 2013 and 2,265 square feet in 2010.
Following the Midwest comes the South, which now has the largest homes in the country at 2,711 square feet for homes built in 2014. While this is only a 0.8% increase over 2013's 2,689 square feet, it is a 13.2% increase over 2010's 2,393 square feet.
Out West houses have been growing at a much more stable rate with the average new home in 2014 at 2,603 square feet. This was a 3.2% increase over 2013's 2,523 square feet, and a 9.1% increase over 2010's 2,386.
While the Midwest, South, and West are seeing much larger houses getting built each year, it may come as a surprise that the Northeast, which had the largest homes being built in 2010 at 2,613 square feet, has pretty much stayed level. In 2014 the average new home was 2,617 square feet, a 0.7% drop from 2013's 2,635 square feet.
With home sizes getting larger in 3 out of 4 regions of the US, this can translate to consumers buying more furniture while also looking for larger individual pieces of furniture. According to data collected by Furnituredealer.net in the first six months of 2015, the most popular dimensions for a sofa are 87" long, with a depth of 39.4", and a height of 37.6". When it comes to sectional sofas, consumers are looking for a footprint of 116.1" by 98.3" with a height of 37.7".
If you are a furniture manufacturer, it's important to keep up on housing trends and make sure that the furniture you are making meets the demands of today's consumers. If you are spending all of your time chasing down past due receivables, it's hard to stay on top of what really matters. Let DSA Factors factor your accounts receivable for you, not only will you save time and money, but we will also improve your cash flow.
* In this study, the Midwest includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The Northeast includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia. The West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
