Having a Lot Isn't Enough: Trends in Upsizing Houses and Shrinking Lots

The median size of single family residences built from 1980 to 2014 grew by 50 percent, from 1,600 to 2,400 square feet. By contrast, during that same time, the median lot size shrank by over 20 percent; dwindling from 11,300 to 8,800 square feet. As a result, we observe a marked increase in the building-to-lot-size ratio, the median of which ballooned from 0.14 for houses constructed in 1980 to 0.27 for those constructed in 2014. In this note, we document the trend of the building-to-lot-size ratio in recent decades and study the factors associated with heterogeneity observed both in the level and growth of this ratio.