Wide Open Spaces

Some recent news
articles mention Americans’ insatiable appetite for bigger and bigger
homes. According to the National
Association of Homebuilders, new homes built in 2004 had an average of 2,349
square feet — up from 1,500 in 1970. That’s a jump of about 850 square
feet!

So it got us thinking: where are all these spacious homes? (Certainly not my
neighborhood in San Francisco…).

We dug into our data and queried communities with the highest median square
footage for single-family homes (among communities with more than 10,000
homes). Our results are literally all over the map. But topping the list is
one you might not guess: Brentwood,
Tennessee, a community about 12 miles from Nashville where median square footage for homes is a
whopping 3,077 and numerous country
music icons hang their hats. Close behind is Beverly
Hills, CA at 3,026 sq. feet. Other top-ranked communities:
- Alpharetta,
GA (Atlanta suburb) 2,895 square feet
- Sammamish, WA
(near Seattle) 2,540 square feet
- Chesterfield,
MO (St. Louis suburb) 2,522 square feet
- Bloomfield
Hills, MI (near Detroit) 2,506 square feet