New single-family homes are shrinking a little. In 2010, the size of the median home was 2,169 square feet, down from the peak of 2,277 in 2007, according to the Census Bureau. But that small decrease is a blip compared with the expansion that has happened in the past 40 years. In 1973, the median US home has only 1,525 square feet.
Of course, bigger means more expensive. Since 1973, the size of the median new home has grown 42 percent. Its price is up 33 percent after accounting for inflation. That means you pay more overall, but a little less per square foot.
