Weekly Real Estate News
Today’s new homes are smaller than the properties that were built over the previous decade, according to a new analysis published by LendingTree.
The average US new home size shrank by 11.6% from 2,724 square feet in 2015 to 2,409 in 2025. Regionally, the square footage of new homes became smaller by 13.4% in the South, by 12.2% in the Midwest, and by 9.2% in the West. Only the Northeast saw bigger homes over this period, albeit by a slender 1.1%.
Still, the new homes being sold are spacious by historical standards. LendingTree noted the average size grew 17.5%, from 2,050 square feet in 1995 to 2,409 in 2025, after peaking at 2,724 in 2015. Northeast homes are largest (2,866 square feet) while Midwest homes are smallest (2,262).
In 2025, 25% of new homes were under 1,800 square feet, up from 16% in 2015. In contrast, homes that were greater than 3,000 square feet fell in market share from 33% to 20%.
However, what didn’t shrink were prices. LendingTree reported new home prices per square foot surged 71.9%, from $100.02 in 2015 to $171.95 in 2025.
LendingTree’s Chief Consumer Finance Analyst Matt Schulz observed, “Buyers may be getting less house, but they certainly aren’t getting a bargain. The sharp rise in price per square foot shows just how much the economics of homebuying have changed. That makes it more important than ever to focus on the monthly payment and the space you’ll actually use, rather than stretching your budget simply to hit a certain square-footage number.”
