Despite national trend, size of new homes in Fayette County holding steady

New home construction in Fayette County seems to be bucking the national trend when it comes to the size of the house.
According to a report by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the average size of a new home has increased more than 300 square feet in the last five years, to 2,679 square feet in 2013 up from 2,362 square feet in 2009.
But local contractors are instead finding that customers are opting for internal upgrades such as granite counter tops, hardwood floors, high-end kitchen cabinets and the occasional three-car garage rather than more square footage.
“Buyers are not going for bigger, but more luxury options, so bigger is not always the answer,” said Chip Ciarrocchi, owner of Cross Creek Estates Development in South Union Township.
Ciarrocchi said the median size of a new home his company has built in the county over the last five years has remained at roughly 2,500 square-feet.
“The trend now is affordability in Fayette County and larger homes have not necessarily taken on around here,” said Ciarrocchi, whose business is a member of the Builders Association of Fayette County.
Steve Cehula, owner of SC Builders that is developing Pheasant Run in Menallen Township, said the majority of new homes his company is building also range between 2,000 and 2,400 square-feet.
With the recession presenting lower interest rates and a larger inventory of homes for sale, Cehula said, some people were able to purchase a home they normally wouldn’t be able to afford.
“It’s definitely been a better year this year,” added Cehula.
Judy Vrable, executive officer of the Builder’s Association of Fayette County, said although the size of new homes is not increasing locally, it appears people are building bigger nationally to accommodate their in-laws and other family members living with them.
“Nationally, the story’s very clear that bigger was better for many years,” said Stephen Melman, NAHB economist.
However, Melman said the typical new home buyer in recent years has been someone with high credit scores and high levels of income.
Overall, Melman noted the return to larger homes is on the rise in some areas after housing sizes bottomed out from the recession in 2009.
Melman said NAHB bases its information on statistics from four regions with Pennsylvania reportedly having the largest square-footage of new homes of those states included in the northeast.
Traditionally a smaller part of the market, NAHB said repeat buyers took advantage of cheap land and low interest rates in 2011 and built larger homes.
Melanie Wise, senior public relations specialist at the Pennsylvania Builders Association, said that across the state and nationally, how large the home is depends largely on high incomes and low credit restrictions.
“Credit has become tougher for first-time home builders to get, so they aren’t buying as much,” added Wise.
First-time buyers who typically buy at the lower end of the price scale have been increasingly absent from the market though because of strict lending guidelines and larger down payment requirements.
The association reported the median income of new-home buyers was $107,000 in 2011, up from $91,000 a decade ago.
The average new-home sale price also rose to $318,000 in 2013 from $248,000 in 2009.
The Census Bureau indicated a typical new home is about 50 percent larger than its 1973 counterpart of 1,525 square-feet.
The upward trend also applies to the percentage of two-story, single-family homes started, with the share steadily rising to 60 percent in 2013 from 51 percent in 2009.
However, Ciarrocchi said he has found in the last 20 years that the county has not followed the national average for home sizes.
Melman said just as square footage has increased though so has the number of features.
Of all the new homes built, NAHB said 48 percent had at least four bedrooms in 2013, compared to 34 percent in 2009.
In addition, 35 percent of new homes built in 2013 had at least three full bathrooms, up from 23 percent in 2010.
For the most part, Ciarrocchi said the ranch style homes his company builds include three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths compared with a two-story house that has four bedrooms.
Cehula said 25 percent of the houses his company builds are two-stories with four or more bedrooms.
The National Association of Realtors said garages are also getting bigger with 22 percent of the homes built in 2013 having three or more cars compared to 16 percent in 2009.
Porches were also less common in 2013, with decks included in more new homes.