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'Shrinkflation' hits the housing market
As inflation goes up, 'shrinkflation' is happening in our every day lives. We feel it at the store and now it's happening in the housing market. A new study from LendingTree found the average new home build shrank about 300 square feet over the last decade. FOX 13's Briona Arradondo reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Shrinkflation is hitting the housing market as new single-family homes shrink about 300 square feet while construction costs continue to rise, according to a LendingTree study.
Tampa real estate market trends
What we know:
New single-family houses are roughly 12 percent smaller over the past 10 years.
According to a LendingTree study, average builds shrank about 300 square feet while becoming more expensive to construct.
A Tampa realtor explained how building expenses escalated.
"When you look at the prices in 2015, the average cost of a home was about $100 a foot. Today it’s about $172 a foot," Vincent Arcuri said. "It’s a substantial amount for a builder for the cost to have gone up, so they just bring the size of the home down."
Smaller homes remain popular as people downsize to lower bills or prioritize room layout.
Construction technology solutions
What we don't know:
It remains unclear how quickly automation will transform home construction, though industry leaders consider it necessary.
"And so, the only thing they can do is try to find less skilled labor or use inferior materials. And so unfortunately, the only path forward for construction, home construction, is automating, automating the process as much as possible," Lance Thrailkill, co-founder of Print3d Technologies, said. Thrailkill’s company 3D prints houses to help with affordability, coming in 10 to 20 percent below average, he said.
Housing market future
What's next:
The market has slowed down due to supply and demand challenges. Real estate experts note current conditions favor buyers.
Buyers can ask builders to include closing costs or property upgrades during purchase negotiations.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX13’s Briona Arradondo, who conducted interviews with Tampa realtor Vincent Arcuri and Lance Thrailkill, co-founder of Print3d Technologies, as well as information from a study by LendingTree.