As median new-home size shrinks, analysts see return of entry-level buyers

Wall Street Journal housing blogger Kris Hudson writes that as newly built, single-family homes are getting smaller, more availability of affordable homes likely has started.

Data from the Commerce Department shows the median size of a single-family home built in the third quarter was 2,414 square feet, down 2.3 percent from the second quarter measure of 2,472. Simultaneously, early signs are emerging that entry-level buyers are coming back, as national home builder D.R. Horton Inc. posted a 38-percent gain in sales orders for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, much of the revenue coming from its Express brand of homes priced less than $200,000.

Read more