LendingTree analysts calculated median home sizes for single-family homes for the largest 45 cities in the country and median value to get a cost per square foot and reveal where homeowners get the most bang for their buck, at least in terms of living space. LendingTree’s Chief Economist Tendayi Kapfidze said Houston is geographically large with a lot of room and space to build big, not like in New York, where they have to build up and smaller.
“(According to Realtor.com)…on 100 Carnarvon Drive—in the Memorial area—is on sale for $29,999 million, so basically $30 million. And, it’s 26,401 square feet,” said Kapfidze.
He said besides having a lot of space, Texas has been adding new residents at a steady pace, with the nation’s largest annual population growth between 2010 and 2016.
“There’s quite a few other really large homes over 20,000 square feet that are listed on River Crest Dive,” said Kapfidze.
Houston has a lot of new homes, which are generally bigger than older homes. For the last 40-50 years, homes have been getting bigger.
He cites Census Bureau data that the average size of new homes has decreased slightly over the past couple of years.
In the second quarter of this year, the average size of new homes was 2,412 sq. ft. and has been getting smaller.
Cities with older housing stock have smaller houses, including Detroit at No. 45 on the list.
Austin and Dallas also are in the top five for biggest houses in America.