LITTLE HOUSE ON THE MARKET; Recession, changing preferences driving smaller homes

Jim Weiker, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The downsizing of America is hitting home.

Central Ohio builders, like those throughout the nation, are rolling out smaller houses, partly out of economic necessity, partly because of consumer preference.

"I think it has somewhat to do with economics, but it also has to do with building a different-style product," said Michael Mahon, an associate with Real Living HER who specializes in selling new homes.

Most big builders have always kept some small-home plans in their lineups. But within the past 18 months, many of central Ohio's largest builders significantly updated or expanded those designs, including Dominion, Sovereign, M/I and Westport.

At 1,400 to 1,800 square feet, these homes would fit comfortably in traditional Columbus neighborhoods. But inside, they differ vastly from the Cape Cods, bungalows and Dutch colonials that dominate the West Side, Clintonville and Grandview Heights.

Designers know they can't sacrifice some ingredients new-home buyers have come to expect, such as open kitchens with an eating counter, a master-bedroom suite, attached two-car garages, a first-floor bathroom and higher ceilings.

In most designs, living space is pushed to the rear of the home into a combined living/dining/kitchen great room.

"The big difference between these and older homes of the same size is the elimination of redundant spaces on the first floor," said Dan O'Malley, vice president of product development for M/I, which this year introduced a line of smaller homes in what it has dubbed the eco series.

"If you had a 1,600-square-foot home in the Midwest before, it was expected that you would have a split dining and living room in the front. You won't see that in these homes."

Besides skipping formal living and dining rooms, new smaller homes typically come without fourth bedrooms, two-story great rooms, large lots in manicured subdivisions and, sometimes, basements.

Builders compensate for a smaller footprint by opening up the floor plan and offering higher ceilings and plenty of windows to make the home seem larger.

Dominion's latest model, the Andover, for example, offers three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths in a 1,601-square-foot two-story. (A slightly larger four-bedroom version is also available.)

The home comes with 9-foot ceilings, a master suite, poured basement walls, tiered kitchen cabinets, arched doorjambs, a large kitchen with an eating counter, crown molding and a host of options including wood floors and granite countertops.

What you won't find in the Andover: a separate dining or living room.

"Most of the formal space is gone," explained Eric Allison, Dominion's vice president of research and design.

In place of formal living or dining rooms, today's smaller homes are more likely to offer a "flex" room near the entrance that can be used as a dining room, living room, office or den.

Such smaller homes are also more energy efficient than their 1950s predecessors. M/I named its new line of 1,264- to 1,900-square-foot homes the eco series to promote their efficiency. (M/I is the only central Ohio builder whose homes all meet Energy Star standards, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.)

Sovereign also applied a "green initiative" to its new Village collection of smaller homes (1,100 to 2,115 square feet), said Sovereign President Ted Uritus.

"Those houses have sold very well," he said. "People obviously are looking for value but also what you get for that price."

Craig Neal and his girlfriend, Kara Klawon, looked at existing homes off Sawmill Road before they fell in love with M/I's Schiller model, a three-bedroom, 1,772-square-foot home.

When M/I agreed to throw in the bonus room above the garage, adding about 250 square feet and a fourth bedroom (and keeping the price at about $205,000), the couple was sold.

"The older homes we looked at all needed remodeling," Klawon said. "And I love the openness of this plan."

The only complaint: The home doesn't include optional upgrades to granite countertops and wood floors, which the couple hopes to add later.

Thirty years ago, the Schiller would not have been considered a small home.

The average size of a new home stayed around 1,600 or 1,700 square feet in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, but in the late '80s, as the economy grew, so did homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In 1987, the average size of a new home ballooned to 1,905 square feet, and it didn't stop growing for 20 years. By 2007, the average new home reached 2,507 square feet. (Homes in the Midwest have typically been smaller than the national average, topping out at 2,291 square feet.)

Last year, as the economy shrank, the average new home dropped to 2,463 square feet. It has continued to drop this year, to 2,392 in the second quarter.

New homes are likely to continue to shrink in the next year or two, barring a remarkable economic resurgence. A National Association of Home Builders survey in May found that 59 percent of homebuilders plan to construct smaller homes this year.

The question vexing homebuilders is how much of the demand for smaller homes is driven by the economy and how much by choice.

Smaller homes seem to be gaining cachet because of environmental concerns and a "Small-is-better" movement. A cottage industry, so to speak, has emerged celebrating small homes, led by the series of "Not So Big" house books by Sarah Susanka.

O'Malley, with M/I, thinks that smaller homes are here to stay.

"When you attach affordability with the green aspect, the trend will be to push the square footage down," he said. "The days of the 3,800-square-foot, me-too house are behind us now."

Uritus, with Sovereign Homes, likens the industry to car builders moving away from the steel-clad behemoths of the past.

"It'll be a long time before we build all these McMansions again," he said.

But Uritus acknowledges he continues to receive requests for large homes when clients can afford it.

Other builders aren't convinced the smaller movement will stick once the economy recovers and the tax credit for first-time home buyers expires, taking with it much of the demand for smaller homes.

Gary Libertini, president of American Heritage Homes, said he has several highly efficient smaller designs he'd like to roll out as regular options for customers.

"I'm trying to move our portfolio from 2,000 to 3,500 square feet to 1,400 to 2,500 square feet," he said.

But, he added, customers remain drawn to bigger homes.

"I'm amazed at how many people still come in and want 3,500-square-foot homes," Libertini said.

"I try to tell them, 'You may not want that,' but they still do."

jweiker@dispatch.com