The issue known as “shrinkflation,” which occurs when the price of something stays the same or increases even as the item gets smaller, affects more people than just grocery shoppers.
Homebuyers must also be concerned about “shrinkflation.” According to new research from real estate website Zillow, the trend is affecting properties, especially those in the $1 million price category, where the size of the homes that purchasers are getting for their money is reducing.
According to Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow, it’s one way that inflation is having an impact on the housing market.
For homes of any price range, money won’t go as far, she claimed. But given the expectations buyers frequently have of it, the $1 million mark is particularly eye-catching.
“A million dollars isn’t as luxurious as it once was,” Olsen said.
In California, the notion that $1 million is only sufficient to purchase a standard home has been around for a while. Currently, Olsen said, more and more markets are feeling the same way.
According to Zillow, more than twice as many properties worth $1 million or more were sold this spring as there were two years earlier. Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and Riverside, California saw the largest rises.
However, according to Zillow listings floor plan data, $1 million homes are getting smaller. Midway through 2020, the size of these dwellings peaked at 3,021 square feet; by early this year, it had decreased to 2,530.
The size of a home at that price point has increased to 2,624 square feet, but it is still 397 square feet less than the peak in 2020.
There are fewer bathrooms in smaller million-dollar mansions
According to Zillow’s data, the typical property selling for approximately $1 million has decreased since 2019 in almost all major metropolitan areas. According to the survey, $1 million homes nowadays are often older and have fewer bathrooms.
Homes at this price category saw the biggest size drops in Phoenix, where they decreased by about 1,116 square feet, and Nashville, Tennessee, where they fell by about 1,019 square feet.
Only two metropolitan regions had an increase in floor plan size for homes costing $1 million or more throughout that period. That includes St. Louis, which saw an increase of about 406 square feet, or roughly a room and a half, and Minneapolis, which had an increase of about 36 square feet, or about the size of a closet.
In Hartford, Connecticut, where the price per square foot is $205, potential house buyers willing to spend up to $1 million may get the most for their money.
Other mid-sized American towns including Indianapolis, with a price of $209 per square foot, Oklahoma City, with a price of $214, Kansas City, Missouri, with a price of $221, and Cincinnati, with a price of $222, came in second.
San Jose had the highest price per square foot out of all the big cities that Zillow was tracking, at roughly $715. As of July, the average single-family home in that city cost over $1.5 million.
According to Zillow, $1 million homes are single-family homes that sold for between $950,000 and $1.05 million, while homes priced at $1 million or above did so. The data does not include condominiums.
How shrinkflation may be impacted by the market cooling
According to a new survey by Clever Real Estate, 72% of recent homebuyers regret their decisions because of the current heated real estate market. Buyer’s remorse was most frequently caused by overspending, according to 30% of respondents.
Nevertheless, there are indications that prices are declining as the market cools, with 1 in 5 sellers lowering their asking prices in August, according to Realtor.com. This could provide purchasers with additional opportunities to compare prices and acquire the greatest square footage for their money.
“Surround yourself with experts who actually care about your goals and your dreams and also are knowledgeable of the local area,” Clever Real Estate’s economist, Danetha Doe, recently told CNBC.
