The size of homes in the United States proves that keeping up with the Joneses can drive a housing market. The eleventh commandment, ‘don’t covet thy neighbors house-build a bigger one! ‘When you travel around in this country today you will see huge, multi level homes everywhere. Those homes are the barometer, that forecasted the storm, that almost blew our economy away. The housing boom that busted and almost took the United States back to the 1929 Wall Street Crash. The government had to call on the taxpayers to bail out almost all of the big banks because they made ‘poor judgment’ in the real estate markets. Many people feel it was a get richer, quicker scheme planned well in advance of the housing market crash. Why nobody went to the slammer is the 64 trillion dollar question?

The new homes all over the country have been getting larger for more than 20 years. The size of the homes being built today is ridiculous, completely nonsensical. The average size of the American home balloned from 983 square feet in 1950 to 2453 square feet in 2014. https://www.census.gov/construction/chars/highlights.html
The cost to buy and maintain a home must not even be taken into consideration by the modern home buyer. It is the new American way, buy for show, and don’t consider the dough. We make the drunken sailor look like a Sunday school teacher. If it makes you feel good do it, go for it! The cost of heating and cooling means very little today, just add it to the other time payment debt.

Modern homes are not growing too large in China or any other country. The largest growth is proably in Dubai or other places where American CEOs go to build retirement villas. People in China might consider square inches of space when buying a home. The average income in China is just ovver $2000 per year. Those people are saving money, while their communist government invests in U.S.Treasury Bonds.

Four new homes were built side-by-side at a lake near a few years ago. As each one was built it was constructed larger than the previous one. When the last house was finally finished, it looked like a big old apartment house or a hotel, compared to the others. Each one of those single family homes probably have two people living in them 99% of the time. This type of building boom is very hard to understand. What is the need for all of that space?

We see retired couples all over the country building huge homes for the two of them to live in during the golden years. Their kids are buying their own big-box houses with triple car garages. The unnecessary increased demand for gas and electricity that these monstrosities require is the biggest waste of resources in history. A large percent of Americans live pay check to paycheck. We are setting an example for the rest of the world to follow? Some people around the globe look at our waste, they could loose respect for us or even not wish us well.

These large homes being built in the United States today will be monuments for future generations to look back at. This era will probably be viewed as America’s version of the great pyramids. Future generations will have to live more frugally after we burn up all the natural recources. They will certainly question why such large homes were ever built, and why so much national debt was created and left for them to pay off.