Building industry trends are an excellent way to stay on top of what works when designing a home. Historical perspective and current trends show what remains popular today and features which are likely to have staying power in the future. The Census Bureau has tracked characteristics of new single-family homes consistently since the mid-1970s. Established in 1969, Yankee Barn Homes’ build history mirrors the findings of The U. S. Census Bureau.
Bigger Yankee Barn Home Builds
The Census found lot size has decreased while house size has increased. Median floor space has grown consistently while lot size has fluctuated, but is currently considerably less than it was in 1975.
Unlike lot size, median square footage of a home has trended upward without significant deviation or fluctuation (See Figure 1). Yankee Barn Homes mimics this trend. Follow YBH history from the 1970s to today and a pattern toward larger house plans emerges.
NAHB research shows a full bathroom adds more to the value of a home than virtually any other physical feature. It’s not surprising that every YBH constructed from 1975 on, has had a least two full bathrooms. Air conditioning is the other feature the Census found has exploded onto the single-family house scene since 1975. I do not recall the last house YBH built without central air conditioning configured into the design. In the past 14 years with YBH, I am unaware of a single home built without central air conditioning (See Figure 2).
Lastly, Figure 3 provides a snapshot comparing characteristics of homes built in 1975 and 2015. Yankee Barn Homes’ designs are consistent with this graphic.
Yankee Barn Homes is betting the larger home trend holds, as we have seen no abatement in the increased footprint size of homes we are building today. We also predict two things: 1. Age in Place home builds will continue to permeate the market, and 2. Adults sharing homes* with aging parents will continue to be popular.
*These homes may either be two separate dwellings connected by a common use area, or one dwelling with separate living quarters defined within the home.
