New homes are smaller – but more expensive – per square foot, study finds

The Brief

A new study reveals that newly built homes in the U.S. have gotten smaller in the past decade, while the average price per square foot for these homes has skyrocketed.

LendingTree researchers analyzed the U.S. Census Bureau Characteristics of New Housing report, released in June 2025.

In this analysis, they looked at the average square footage of new single-family homes sold and the average price per square foot of floor area in new single-family houses sold.

New home sizes shrink in size

By the numbers:

The data found that new-home sizes have shrunk over the past decade, except in the Northeast.

The average size of new single-family homes sold nationwide decreased by 11.2% from 2014 (2,707 square feet) to 2024 (2,404). The South experienced the steepest decline (13.2