While some people are jumping on the tiny house train, others are in search of a bit more space, according to Trulia. Depending on the metro, homebuyers looking for more room to roam may find the process more challenging than others. And as Trulia found out last year, 43 percent of homebuyers in the U.S. are interested in having a bigger home.
The real estate website‘s research team studied the median square footage for starter homes, trade-ups and premium homes throughout metros across the nation, with Texas having a big presence on the list for all three categories.
Austin ranked as having the highest square footage for starter homes (1,428 square feet), and Houston ranked in the top spot for trade-up homes, with a median of 1,997 square feet. While the top spot for premium homes went to Colorado Springs (3,056 square feet), Dallas ranked in the second spot, with 2,945 square feet.
However, Houston was the only Texas state to make it in the top five for all three categories. Houston also ranked in the no. 3 spot for the biggest gain in square footage from starter homes to trade-ups homes, at a 51.7 percent increase.
The top five list of metros with the smallest homes didn’t feature a Texas city, but it did see a few Midwestern markets listed. Detroit was in the no. 1 spot for small trade-ups and premium homes, and in the second spot for starter homes. Honolulu took the no. 1 spot for starter homes, with a median square footage of just 945.
Minneapolis and St. Louis also made appearances on the list for smallest homes.
Chicago had a median square footage of 1,104 for a starter home, which is on par with the median size of a trade-up home in Detroit. In the Chicagoland area, the median trade-up home was 1,384 square feet, and the median size for a premium home was 2,152 square feet.
Miami ranked in the no. 5 spot for small premium homes, coming in with a median 1,922 square feet. In nearby West Palm Beach, residents buying premium homes are really stepping up, gaining 65.6 percent more square footage when jumping from a trade-up home to premium homes.
Memphis ranked in the no. 1 spot for space increase from trade-ups to premiums, with a 67.4 percent gain. The median size of a starter home in Memphis is 1,152 square feet, and a trade-up is 1,480 square feet. The median size of a premium home is 2,072 square feet.
Along the west coast
In Los Angeles, homeowners moving up into a premium home from a trade-up will gain 65.7 percent more square footage.
In San Francisco, the median size of a starter home is 1,080 square feet; a trade up is just a bit more, at 1,375 square feet. Residents who move from a trade-up to a premium home will gain a decent amount of space, with a median premium home size of 2,020 square feet in San Francisco.
To the east
In the country’s largest city, a starter home is actually a pretty decent size — that is, if you can afford a home in New York City. The median size for a starter home in the Big Apple is 1,270 square feet, and a trade-up has a median square footage of 1,654. The median size of a premium home isn’t outstanding, at 2,000 square feet, but buying a premium home in NYC doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a mansion.
The median size of a premium home in Washington D.C. is just 220 square feet more than in NYC, at 2,220 square feet. Starter homes in the D.C. Metro are 1,196 square feet, and a trade-up home is 1,663 square feet.
