The nation's housing market is witnessing a significant shift towards smaller homes as builders respond to soaring costs and demand for affordability. With median new-home sizes decreasing by 4 percent and townhouses becoming increasingly popular, the trend aims to address a critical shortage of starter homes, making homeownership more attainable for first-time buyers. However, challenges remain, including zoning laws and the enduring cultural preference for larger homes, underscoring the complexity of addressing the housing crisis.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, commentary and analysis on the current housing crisis. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations Specialist Tayah Frye at tayah [dot] frye
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Leah Brooks is a Professor in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University and Director of the Center for Washington Area Studies. Brooks’ work examines Business Improvement Districts and land assembly to understand the resolution of collective action problems, analyzes the Community Development Block Grant program to understand the political economy of grant giving at the municipal and sub-municipal levels, investigates of the long-run impacts of streetcar investments in Los Angeles on urban form, and analyzes whether and why US infrastructure costs have increased.
Anthony Yezer is a member of the Department of Economics of The George Washington University where he directs the Center for Economic Research. He teaches courses in regional economics, urban economics, and the economics of crime. He has been a Fellow of the Homer Hoyt School of Advanced Studies in Real Estate and Urban Economics since 1991. Yezer’s research has concentrated on urban and regional economics, he has worked on a number of other areas where microeconomic theory is applied including: interregional migration, mortgage lending and credit risk measurement, economic effects of natural disasters, optimal city size, spatial competition, spatial voting models, interarea rent and price indexes, endogenous diversity in cities, and, most recently, the energy footprint of cities.
According to Yezer, this is not a new issue, “Interior space in new starter home builds has been falling for several years, corresponding to changes in demand. This also brings into question the rising locational component of the matter.”
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