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Building Smaller, Selling Smarter
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She said she expects the appetite for smaller homes to grow, particularly as an increasing number of baby boomers become empty nesters.
Bill Gilligan, Washington area regional manager for Toll Brothers, a luxury home builder, said, "In some cases we have introduced slightly smaller homes in some of our communities to attract a greater number of prospective buyers."
These new designs are typically about 10 percent smaller, he said.
Cheryl Carte, an agent with Keller Williams Realty in Leesburg, said some clients who moved into big, sprawling houses are having second thoughts.
"What I've seen is a lot who purchased these big mega-mansions downsizing and looking for a more efficient way to cut down on the heating and air conditioning," she said.
"I just went to three model homes. . . . They've brought the size of the home down. They still have great amenities. The master bedroom is nice but not ridiculously huge. You don't have to take a snack just to go across the room."
The cutbacks appear to have paid off financially, at least for some builders.
In its 2007 annual report, NVR of Reston, one of the nation's largest builders, noted that its smaller home offerings had helped the bottom line. The company has been making money at a time many builders have not, even though profit is sharply lower than in the past few years.
"In many of our markets, we are providing house types at lower sales price points by reducing the square footage of the products offered and by providing fewer upgraded features as standard options," the report said.
"This provides home buyers with a more affordable product and the option to upgrade only those features important to each particular buyer."
To be sure, builders and real estate agents said, there are still plenty of mini-mansions loaded with amenities in the Washington market. And some builders are still offering lots of freebies such as finished basements and stainless-steel appliances to lure buyers and trim inventory.
Beazer said it is trying to offset shrinkage in some homes using what it calls its "Smartdesign," maximizing space in the kitchen, garage, bedrooms and bathrooms with specially designed shelves or closets.
