July 3, 2006: Report Sheds Light on 30 Years of Home Building Trends
WASHINGTON - Today's newly built homes are substantially larger and many more have central air conditioning than their predecessors of 30 years ago, according to annual data on new home characteristics released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
"Between 1975 and 2005, the portion of new homes built with central air conditioning has risen 43 percent, while the portion of homes built with fewer than two bathrooms has fallen from 41 percent to just 4 percent," noted Jerry Howard, chief executive officer of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). "Meanwhile, the share of newly built homes with four or more bedrooms has risen steadily from 21 percent 30 years ago to just shy of 40 percent last year."