The dream has changed. Chastened by the housing collapse, middle-class Americans want a different kind of home these days. The McMansion, with its eight bedrooms, five baths and 10,000 square-feet, is out. A more sensible housing solution is in.
The average size of new homes shrunk by about 5% from 2007 to 2010 and far fewer mega-homes are being built. The number of homes 4,000 square-feet or larger built in 2010 fell to 35,000 from more than 120,000 in 2007.
Sure, some Americans still fantasize about buying grandiose dwellings -- like
Jennifer Aniston's $42 million mansion -- but then practicality sets in: Nowadays, the real dream house is a family-friendly, four bedroom, with two-and-a-half bath, 2,200 square-foot home.
But as
Coldwell Banker's 2011 Home Listing Report shows, what you pay for these more down-to-earth dwellings can vary dramatically depending on where you live. The report compared average prices of the homes in 2,300 town and cities across North America. Among the findings: At an average cost of $80,000, buying a four bedroom in Lithonia, Ga. is only a fraction of what you'd pay for a similar-sized dwelling in Newport Beach, California where the homes average $2.5 million.
Here's a sampling of what the American Dream home costs in cities and towns across the U.S.
By Les Christie
NEXT: Lithonia, Ga.
