The company also began building neighborhoods of even smaller, and cheaper, houses -- as small as 1,100 square feet, with carpeted rather than tile floors and laminate countertops instead of granite.
"Families and lifestyles are changing," said Bobbie Cooper, director of sales. "In 2005 you couldn't build it big enough. Now it's all about getting back to the basics."
Nine of the 13 smaller homes in the company's Araby Crossing subdivision, which opened in February, have sold.
Jeannie Kellogg, 45, a purchaser for the U.S. Army, bought a 1,400-square-foot, three-bedroom house there. Recently divorced, she moved from a 2,200-square-foot home into her current 1,600-square-foot one and was eager to simplify even more.
"I don't have a lot of maintenance," she said. "If you want to go away for the weekend, with this house it's easy. With a big house you have to take care of things, make sure the sprinklers are on."
Some home builders are daring to get even smaller.
In Columbia, S.C., local builder Great Southern Homes this year introduced a model called the Bungalow -- an 884-square-foot, three-bedroom house that sells for $89,000.
"A lot of the buyers are so excited about being able to afford a single-family home," Vice President Maureen Swindall said. "Maybe it's not as large as some of the apartments they came from, but this is their space."
Then there are people like Greg Johnson, of Iowa City, Iowa, a proponent of the "small-house movement." More homes are designed for environmentally minded people like Johnson, whose house covers 140 square feet.
"Technology is shrinking our lives," he said. "I have a larger music collection than ever before," but it's entirely digital.
Of course, even Johnson and other idealists acknowledge that bigger can be better. In fact, he plans to trade up when his fiancee moves in with him this fall. They're getting a 400-square-foot house.
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nicholas.riccardi@latimes.com
