It’s no surprise that new home lot sizes during the recession got smaller, but a new report suggests new home buyers may be upping the square footage in the years to come.

Home sizes varied across the nation last year, with Southern homes being among the smallest in the country according to one report.

According to a report from the National Association of Home Builders, the media size for a new home started in 2014 was 2,450 square feet nationally.

This was the second-highest measure since 2009, according to NAHB, which added that sizes for new home starts did tend to flatten out at the end of 2014 and the start of 2015.

The trend is still encouraging, as many new home buyers face fewer credit issues and more cash flow due to a recovering economy.

So how large are Alabama new homes, according to the 2014 data?

Well, in the East South Central region, which covers Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, the median size for a new home was 2,300 square feet. That puts Alabama new home sizes among the lowest average size.

That’s compared to 2,580 square feet in the Middle Atlantic region and 2,550 square feet just a little bit east of Alabama in the South Atlantic region.

The West North Central region had the smallest home size at 2,270 square feet, while the Pacific states were more on par with Alabama’s region at 2,366 square feet, as were the East North Central states (2,361 square feet).

Homes in the Mountain region were typically around 2,523 square feet, and the West South Central region had a median size of 2,405 square feet.

Homes under 3,000 square feet made up around 73 percent of all new home starts in the East South Central region last year.

Bryan Davis is the research/media coordinator for the Alabama Center for Real Estate housed within the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama. He can be reached at 205-348-5416 or at bkdavis@culverhouse.ua.edu.

The Alabama Center for Real Estate‘s core purpose is to advance the real estate industry in Alabama by providing relevant resources in the areas of research, education and outreach.