Britain’s Homes are Shrinking Year on Year

The housing market is notorious for its trends that seem to come and go. That could be everything from the style of home, to the pricing and the location. Much of this is dictated by the current economy and by changing lifestyle needs and wants. One trend that has emerged in the past few years has been the size of homes in Britain. Statistics show that Britain’s homes are in fact shrinking year on year.

But what’s feeding into this trend, and does it show signs of continuing? Here’s a deeper look.

Today’s New Homes are Smaller than Those in the 1930s

The stats don’t lie, and as deacon.co.uk, a specialist building insurance provider, points out today’s new builds are actually smaller than those that were built in the 1930s. And what’s so significant about the 1930s style homes? Well they were tiny, really tiny. In fact, the average kitchen in these homes was just 12.27m², while the average bedroom was 15.34m², and the average living room just 16.01m². There wasn’t a whole lot of room to spread out.

Looking back historically, it was a full decade of these small homes before they finally started to increase in size after World War II ended in the 1940s. The growth was small at first, but the trend continued as money started flowing in the economy, people recovered from the hardships of war, and new builds were on the rise.

In terms of the biggest homes, those were in the 1970s when homes reached an all-time high in terms of size. At this point the average kitchen was 14.96m² while the average living room was a massive 24.89m².

The 1980s Marked a Noticeable Change

After many decades of growth in terms of the size of home, the 1980s came along and suddenly the market began to see some noticeable shifts. It was like the pendulum swung and suddenly the massive homes of the 1970s were no longer the trend.

It was during the 1980s that kitchens, bedrooms, and living rooms slowly began to shrink in size. This trend continued into the 1990s. Then came the 2000s and the millennium. Houses shrank so much that it was the smallest in 50 years. That trend has continued, and we are now 20 years into the 2000s with no signs of houses getting bigger. In fact, today’s houses are no bigger than a typical London double-decker bus. That is just 55 square metres, which is far from spacious.

Will This Shrinking Trend Continue?

While it’s impossible to predict what the housing market will will do, there really are no signs of this trend coming to an end. People have become much more environmentally conscious and aware of their footprint, and are now looking for ways to create less of an impact. Downsizing is a great way to adhere to this sort of lifestyle choice.

Not only that but these smaller homes come in at a smaller price tag, which for anyone looking to get into the housing market is a necessity. It seems as though all signs certainly point to this trend continuing.