The Great American Hallway Disappearing Act

It’s no secret that new homes in America are getting smaller but you might be surprised where the loss in space is coming from.

The average American new home built in the first quarter of this year was 2,351 square feet. That’s down from a peak of 2,736 square feet during the early part of 2015 and the smallest since late 2009. They are also more expensive to buy, up 82.9 percent since 2015 to $361,072. Builder costs are up 53.2 percent since 2010, according to these newly released Census bureau figures.

If homes are smaller, where is the shrinkage happening the most?

A recent study by John Burns Research and Consulting (JBREC), which polled 300 residential architects, designers and design-oriented builders, pointed to reductions to what it called “circulation spaces,” that is, not in essential rooms like kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms but in connector spaces like hallways.

As open floor plans combining what had previously been separate rooms become more popular it’s reduced the need for these connectors, like hallways. “Homes are becoming slightly smaller to enhance affordability, but people increasingly require more functionality in their living spaces,” Mikaela Arroyo, vice president of the New Home Trends Institute at JBREC, said.

And even when there are hallway spaces, such as upstairs in two-story homes providing access to bedrooms it often takes on the size of an extra living space rather than just a connector. For those of a certain age who grew up with suburban homes – or even urban apartments and condos – with hallways, it’s yet another change in the way Americans live.

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