With the Gen Y generation, the largest demographic in U.S. history with 83-85 million born 1981-1989, coming of home-buying age, what is this going to mean for housing and the American Dream? The future looks pretty bright from a sustainability point of view…

More apartments. Using a recent Canadian housing study, “Drivers of Apartment Living in Canada for the Twenty-First Century“, which parallels trends in the U.S., one can see in the top graph on the left that apartments are on the rise.

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We know the demand for walkable communities is there, but what about the supply? Looks like it’s finally catching up, at least as far as surveys go.

A survey of 1000 builders and developers in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic area, conducted by The Strategic Alliance real estate group, found that 60% of them are shifting away from bigger traditional home designs to pedestrian-oriented mixed-use neighborhoods. Not surprisingly, 61.4% of them feel multi-family residential holds the greatest potential for

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Moving into smaller homes hasn’t only become a financial necessity, it’s fast becoming a desirability.

If you’re looking for inspiration for big living in a small apartment, there are few better resources than the annual Small, Cool Apartment Contest presented by Apartment Therapy, which by the way, is one of the best blogs on the very same topic.

This year’s U.S. and international winners provide complementary examples for whether you have a more contemporary open floor plan like Chris’s

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Can you say $675 a month to rent your very own newly renovated residence in an up-and-coming neighborhood within a vibrant city? That’s affordable to someone with a $25,000/year salary.

Mini-condos on the rise in walkable urban areas, and developers in Vancouver, Canada agree, announcing thirty 270 s.f. units to be completed in March 2011.

Apparently having City support for mini-residences is a new thing, “We took a position against these kinds of units 20 years ago, but times have changed.

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For emerging generations, ‘quality of life’ does not mean quantity of life, as “more evidence that ‘not so big homes’ are in” provides evidence for. People are increasingly favoring giving up square footage in exchange for having the freedom to live in whatever neighborhood they choose, like being closer to work, closer to friends, closer to, well, having a life. You can buy space, but you can’t buy time.

Even the Urban Land Institute, the leading organization for real estate developers

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Washington DC developer Jair Lynch has a unique live-work space in their new Solea mixed-use project, but hasn’t quite figured out how to market the 1600 s.f. live-work spaces on its ground floor. With 800 s.f. of retail space on the ground floor, and an open stairway down to 800 s.f. of living space with kitchen and washer/dryer below, it’s not for the everyday buyer. So, they decided to crowdsourcing what it could be.

“Crowdsourcing means we are opening it up to the creative people in

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Sometimes a higher calling means living in a home one could actually afford, depending on location of course. That’s the case at Francis Street Lofts in Charleston, South Carolina, where a former church built in 1937 (serving as a costume shop in the 1990s) now provides homes for young professionals.

The renovated building consists of twelve one-bedroom units ranging from 621 s.f. to 930 s.f., priced between $170,000 and $250,000.  Smaller units are what creatives are looking for in a down

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Crowdsourcing is often used as a tool to prove there’s a market in order to attract the capital needed to execute the project. However, while participants may not have as much input in a place that already has the capital secured, the fact that the project is indeed going to be implemented one way or another is highly motivating.

Once such development is a redevelopment of an existing building into 16 condos, starting under $200K, in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in the heart of

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As many now know, housing sizes have peaked, and articles like USA Today’s Americans are moving on up to smaller, smarter homes are communicating a new American Dream that small is in. Listen to what people are saying,

“There’s a shift in the culture. Build what you need. Build what inspires you. Don’t build to impress your neighbors. I don’t feel we need more space. If designed right, less space can work well. There are lots of things that can be done without spending a lot of money,“

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For a simple look at one reason why U.S. residents are having a harder time buying a home each year, or why the housing bubble burst (or the realization that there even was a housing bubble), take a look at the chart above.

From the U.S. Census, the numbers below state the year, average household size, average new single-family home size (s.f.), and single-family home s.f. per occupant (charted above).

1950 - 3.38 persons - 983 s.f. - 291 s.f.
1970 - 3.11 persons - 1500 s.f. - 482 s.f. …

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