If you’re thinking about moving into a smaller home, you’re not alone. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the average size of a new home dropped to 2,411 square feet in 2023, the smallest that number has been in 13 years. The NAHB also found that the average buyer sought out new homes around 2,070 square feet.
Simply put, bigger isn’t always better. Rightsizing allows you to invest in a residence tailored to your ideal lifestyle and remove excess space your family doesn’t need. We break down how you can trade square footage for smarter space without sacrificing style and comfort.
Assess How You Actually Live
The first step toward rightsizing your next home is to consider your current and future living habits. To do this, ask yourself a few simple questions:
- What rooms do you rarely or no longer use?
- What rooms do you spend the most time in?
- What rooms do you use, but feel they could be more functional?
This exercise can help you find the space that is most important to your ideal residence, and what areas can be improved or eliminated. These initial ideas can help home builders design spaces around your preferences and deliver a more tailored space with more efficient square footage.
Embrace Functional, Smart Spaces
The first step toward rightsizing your next home is to consider your current and future living habits. To do this, ask yourself a few simple questions:
- Maximizing storage space: Less square footage doesn’t necessarily mean skimping on storage space. Smart options include:
- A full basement
- Walk-in closets
- Adding closets and shelves in normally unused spaces, such as under the stairs
- Multipurpose rooms: Look for flexible layouts where rooms can serve more than one purpose:
- An office space that could function as a guest room.
- A full basement could be partially finished, providing both space for storage and additional living areas like an in-home gym, media room, workshop, and more.
- Lofts offer a separate area for those who might want a reading or workspace, play area for kids, or a spot for game nights.
Design for Long-Term Living
Part of rightsizing is setting yourself up for the future. If you want your new home to be your forever home, you’ll want to consider a few different factors:
- Low-maintenance lifestyle:
- Main-floor living, including a first-floor primary suite
- Quality services, such as a community with lawn care and snow removal
- Location preferences: Rightsizing extends beyond the walls of your home. Factor in the following features so that you can build a new home in an area that suits your lifestyle:
- Proximity to family and friends
- Walkability and safety
- Different amenities, such as community centers, rec centers, and parks
- Proximity to walking paths, golf courses, and other locations that support your hobbies and activities
- Everyday essentials, like grocery stores, shopping, and healthcare
Understand the Financial Impact of Rightsizing
Rightsizing doesn’t always mean downsizing the cost of a new home. Materials and labor have risen in cost and are higher than they were when your current home was built. As a result, it’s important to acknowledge that rightsizing can require a small mortgage or applying additional savings.
Building your future home is about finding the right fit for your family, not the lowest number. Take the following steps to find a solution that helps you balance your budget, focus on your future, and simplify the right sizing process:
- Evaluate total cost of ownership: This includes the cost of the home, in addition to taxes, insurance, and HOA fees if applicable. You can leverage the equity out of your existing home or take out a small mortgage to help offset some or all of this cost.
- Consider upkeep and replacement costs: One major advantage of a new home is that it can help you save time and money over time. Newer homes designed and built by quality home builders can cut ongoing expenses in a few ways:
- Less space means you don’t need to heat and cool rooms you don’t use anymore
- Energy efficient features lower energy bills, improves comfort, and dampens sound
- New windows, roofing, and HVAC that won’t need to be replaced or maintained as early or often as what exists in most older homes
- Consult a trusted real estate agent: If you’re unsure of what kind of value you’ll get for your existing home, it is best to contact a reputable real estate agent who can guide you with professional expertise in your market area.
Right Size Your Possessions to Fit Your New Home
It’s important to remember that right sizing doesn’t mean that you’re severing ties with your old life; you’re just moving onto the next chapter. The prospect of parting with long-held belongings can be an emotional experience, and that’s perfectly okay.
The good news is that downsizing is an opportunity to combine your past with your future. Some possessions had their time and place in your old home, but don’t necessarily belong in your new space. Here are some tips that can help you downsize your belongings:
- Evaluate how frequently you use something. Prioritize what you truly use and love and consider moving on from furniture or other possessions that are rarely or never used.
- Incorporate aspects of your old home: Think of one or two things from your current residence that are special to you and integrate them into your new build.
- Visualize your new place: Think about how you’ll be living in your new home and what furniture will make sense. Take measurements and use your floorplan or your builder’s model home as applicable to figure out what will fit and what won’t.
- Downsize room by room: Tackle different spaces one at a time and categorize items by what will be kept, donated, given away, etc. Consider what special pieces or belongings could be passed on to other family members.
One of the benefits of building new is that you often have some timeline flexibility. A new build can take 9-12 months, giving you time to work through the process of selling and moving out of your existing home. If your concern is that your home will sell quicker than the time it takes to build new, you could negotiate the closing date with your buyers or determine if the builder has homes in process that would enable you to settle in sooner.
Ready to Rightsize Your Home?
Petros Homes has helped hundreds of Northeast Ohio families trade “more space” for the right space. Contact us today to learn how we can build you a home where every square foot is engineered for the way you want to live.
