Data shows Utah is tops in the country for home sizes
This home was featured in the the 2020 Utah Valley Parade of Homes. Homes in Utah are bigger than the national average and, according to one report, homes in Provo/Orem are No. 1 in the nation in average size for mid-size metro markets.
One of the 21 homes featured in the 2020 Utah Valley Parade of Homes. Homes in Utah are bigger than the national average and, according to one report, homes in Provo/Orem are No. 1 in the nation in average size for mid-size metro markets. July 10, 2020.
For years now, residents have heard about the need for housing that is affordable in Utah County. If a current trend continues, that may not happen.
While many areas of the country are looking at building tiny homes and minimalists are making homes out of storage containers and buses, it appears Utah isn’t going down that road.
The U.S. Census Bureau information on new home construction says the size of single-family homes has increased by over 60% since the 1970s, going from a median square-feet size of 1,525 to 2,467. In the Provo/Orem area and all of Utah, it appears to be somewhere between 2,500 and 4,000 square feet depending on the area.
Filterbuy, a company that makes home filters and other products, crunched the numbers from data shared by Realtor.com. The result is, Utah wins in the big home market.
The Provo/Orem area ranked No. 1 in the mid-size metro category (at least 100,000 population). Realtor.com indicates the median square footage of a home in this area is now 3,393 square feet.
Don’t think just because there are lots of kids in Utah that is the only reason for buyers desiring big homes.
All new construction in Utah County, unless a water table prohibits it, is built with unfinished basements. That more likely accounts for some of the reasons the area shows larger square foot homes, according to Andrew Ford, president of Utah Central Association of Realtors.
“Younger families buy above ground when they need three bedrooms,” Ford said. “As they grow and need four or five bedrooms, they finish off the basements.”
According to the Census Bureau, the trend for smaller homes that occurred between 2010 and 2019 has flipped with the onset of more people working from home. The COVID-19 “new normal” is also changing buyer wants. Now, with so many working from home and not going back, people are looking for offices and exercise rooms, let alone the continued desire for home theaters, according to the report.
Not everyone can afford a Parade of Homes home, or build in Hobble Creek — where square footage average is well above 10,000 square feet.
There are many apartments being built at 600 to 1,000 square feet, with about the same amount of luxury, more so than at any other time. They have exercise rooms, computer rooms, dog parks and stations, pools and just about any other amenity you care to want.
“The metros with the largest homes are less densely populated and tend to be more affordable than some more densely populated urban areas,” the report said. “The median size of residential listings in the large metros with the biggest homes is 2,356.
So how do Utah home sizes compare?
In the small metro cities, Logan came in No. 3 in the U.S. with St. George coming in at sixth place.
In mid-size metro areas, Provo/Orem was No. 1 with Ogden coming in at No. 3. In the large metro areas, Salt Lake City was No. 1 in the nation for largest median square footage home.
“The metros with the largest homes are less densely populated and tend to be more affordable than some more densely populated urban areas,” the report said. “The median size of residential listings in the large metros with the biggest homes is 2,356 square feet, substantially larger than the national median of 1,838 square feet.”
However, the median residential listing price among these locations is only about 10% higher than the national median of $334,081. Homeowners in these metros also tend to report above-average income, according to the report.
What this report didn’t take into consideration is the huge influx of people moving into Utah County and throughout the Wasatch Front. There are more people needing housing than there is housing. So for many, the big house on the hill is still a way off.