The US median income has gone up about 10.5%
The average cost per sq foot of new single family home has gone up about 40%
The average sale price of a home has gone up about 60%
The median sale price of a house has gone up about 70%
https://www.statista.com/statistics/682549/average-price-per...
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ASPUS
I know US don't appreciate that, but in high density areas, house is not really an option
Property taxes are proportional to property values, affected by inflation. Insurance is proportional to property values. Home-maintenance costs are materials and labor, both affected by inflation. Utility prices tend to adjust for inflation.
When everything is getting more expensive, it's not a news story that any particular thing is getting more expensive.
"The house I just bought is 4k square feet because I demanded a huge house" is very different than "The house is 4k square feet because it was one of only 3 houses put on the market this month and it was either this or no house at all."
So, while yes, it is probably true that a lot of houses on the market are probably generally larger, I'm not sure that matters for this debate unless the buyers are actually demanding that (which in my experience, they are not).
"But your houses is bigger" is no consolation when you didn't want a big house to begin with. It's a signal what the builders are building and zoning laws allow is completely out of touch with what people actually want. Yes, demand drives up cost but the demand is there because people want housing and the only houses available are huge not because they are looking for huge houses.
Collectively, over time, buyers' preferences are manifested in the housing stock. Same as with cars getting bigger.
https://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?d=2295000470791&w=kmXP7Hkhn-...
