Post-Covid Home-Buying Trends Reflect Reevaluation Of Spaces, Including Prioritizing Outdoor Space, Creating Permanent Work Areas, Leading To Demand For Larger Homes

Go big and go home. Lingering after the pandemic is the reevaluation of our spaces, from prioritizing outdoor space to creating permanent work areas or seeking multigenerational homes that fit all.

With regard to NYC specifically, the following was provided by Storage Cafe author Maria Gatea:

Despite its reputation as one of the US capitals of small living, New York City can offer chances at decent square footage at home. The median size of single-family homes clocks in at 1,916 sq. ft., much in line with the national average, which currently stands at around 2,000 square feet.  But where it’s lagging is in the outdoor space department. The median size of a residential lot in NYC is roughly 2,700 sq. ft. That’s similar to what you’d find in other dense urban hubs like Washington, D.C., Boston and San Francisco but much lower than most of the South. A yard can get to a median size of 11,000 square feet in cities like Nashville and Atlanta. Chicago and Philadelphia fare the worst in terms of backyard space with median lot sizes of 1,700 sq. ft. and 1,420 sq. ft., respectively.

Interestingly enough, living spaces are getting bigger in NYC, both indoors and outdoors. Single-family homes built in the city over the past decade (2013 to 2022) are not only 30% larger than the median home size in the city, but they are also built on lots that are 16% bigger than the overall median-size lot. Worth mentioning though, NYC builds relatively few single-family homes compared to the rest of the US. There were only 4K building permits issued for single-family homes in the last 10 years.

Zooming in on borough-level data, Manhattan has the largest single-family homes in the city, with a median size of almost 3,700 sq. ft. A median-size lot spans 1,790 sq. ft.

Brooklyn and the Bronx are next in line for median home sizes, with 2,160 sq. ft. and 2,100 sq. ft., respectively. At around 2,500 sq. ft., building lots in the Bronx are 25% bigger than those in Brooklyn (2,000 sq. ft.).

But those interested in living in NYC while also enjoying a decently sized backyard should head toward Staten Island, the only borough in the city where lots manage to sit above the 3,000 square-foot threshold. Building lots here approach 3,800 sq. ft., while the median home in Staten Island is almost 1,600 sq. ft. Queens is the second-best choice for those who seek some room to breathe outdoors. Building lots here have a median size of 2,830 sq. ft., while homes hover around 1,670 sq. ft.

The ideal place to call our own for many now includes multiple bedrooms and a sprawling yard. However, while some lots have enough room to fit an Olympic-size pool in the backyard, others can barely fit a small bistro set. At the same time, the floor area of homes being built has gone down in recent years whereas prices have been trending to record highs.

So where does this leave those who want room to breathe at home? As it turns out, if you’re looking for a truly big-sized homestead, you’ll have to venture to the South and West for the best prospects of living large. This is one of the main findings of our most recent research* where we set out to discover the best places for residents to enjoy the most space in and around their homes without giving up the urban lifestyle.

Bigger is better and attainable for home buyers in these 10 cities:#1 Raleigh, NC; #2 Atlanta, GA; #3 Charlotte, NC; #4 Omaha, NE; #5 Nashville, TN; #6 Austin, TX; #7 Jacksonville, FL; #8 Bakersfield, CA; #9 Fresno, CA; and #10 Tulsa, OK.

Here are some key takeaways from our analysis:

• Nationwide, yards are getting harder to come by.The typical American house is sitting at around 2,299 square feet, 4% smaller than 10 years ago, while the typical lot size has dwindled by 8% to 8,891 square feet, during the same period. In the meantime, the average price of a new home has soared 70% from 2013.
• Overall, Raleigh, NC offers the best combination of home and lot size, enhanced by a safe living environment and a welcoming job market. Raleigh offers a median-size single-family home at a generous 1,947 square feet, which takes up 15.9% of the average lot, which covers roughly 10,500 square feet (about twice the area of a basketball court). This means plenty of backyard space too.
• Nashville, TN is the backyard king. The city ranks first for the overall size of residential lots, followed by Atlanta, GA. The median lot in Nashville is 11,813 square feet, 300 square feet bigger compared to Atlanta. At the other end of the spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, packed tight with row houses in many parts of the city, has the smallest lots, with a median size of just 1,419 square feet, or about 10 times smaller than Nashville’s median size.

Milwaukee, WI is home to the biggest living quarters, with the median house size at 2,450 square feet, nearly double the square footage homeowners get in Chicago, IL.

You can see a cool infographic showing the huge difference in lot sizes among the country’s 50 biggest cities, here:

Lot and Home Sizes in the Country’s Largest. Image Credit – Storage Cafe

*To determine the most attractive urban destinations for Americans in a search of both generous homes and expansive backyards, we ranked all 50 cities based on a combined metric of the average size of homes and the average size of the lots they’re sitting on. We’ve added other factors such as home prices, median household income, safety and commute times to see how accessible and desirable those cities are for home buyers.

Banner Image: Interior of spacious home. Image Credit – Outsite Co