Tuesday Top Ten: Ways to help the housing crisis

By Leon Stevens on September 17, 2024

Average US House Size Has Been Increasing Over Last 50 Years

In the US, the average house size has been increasing since the 1970s. The peak was actually in 2015 at 2467 sq ft (229 sq meters) and then it dropped slightly over the next two years. New data from 2022 indicate that things haven't changed much – the average house size was 2,299 sq ft which still puts it below the 2015 peak.

The Top Ten ways to solve the housing crisis

10. Build smaller houses

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

After the Second World War, houses were built to solve the housing crisis. Yes, they were identical, but they were cheap and quick to build, and many houses are still standing today. from 900-1200 square feet, they made the perfect family home that today would be called a starter home.

I've seen news stories of new housing developments that are touted to ease the pressure of lack of supply. Most of those houses are large houses, and yes we do need them for families wanting to upgrade, but the more families we can get into a reasonably-sized and affordable home, the better, because those are the ones that need it.

That's all I have to say.

-Leon

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/