American homeowners are utilizing space less efficiently than ever before.

• The number of extra bedrooms, which is defined as a bedroom beyond the number of people in the home and including one for an office, has reached a new record, according to a new report from Realtor.com.
• Over the past 40 years, the number of people in households has decreased, resulting in a seven-fold increase.

Although there are fewer homes for sale currently, there is an unprecedented amount of vacant housing space.

Since 1970, the highest number of extra bedrooms, including an office, has been recorded by Realtor.com, according to a new report.

The latest Census data from 2022 shows that the number of extra bedrooms increased from 31.3 million to 31.9 million last year. In comparison, there were only 7 million extra bedrooms in 1980.

The decline in the number of people per household has resulted in a fourfold jump from 3.1 to 2.5 people per household from 1970 to 2023.

"According to Ralph McLaughlin, senior economist at Realtor.com, the increase in guest rooms is due to two main reasons: larger homes and smaller household sizes. Additionally, spare rooms are more popular in cheaper areas where buying a home with extra bedrooms is more affordable."

During the "McMansion" era, which began in the 1980s, builders constructed larger homes. However, the average size of new homes has decreased over the past decade due to rising costs and increasing demands for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability from consumers.

Over the past 50 years, the average number of bedrooms per home has increased from 2.5 to 2.8 rooms, but there has been no change in this trend over the past 10 years.

The report states that excess space trends are highest in the Mountain West and South regions due to the availability of more land and larger floor plans in these areas. In contrast, urban homes have a different dynamic, with less excess space.

McLaughlin stated that if people value extra space, then we didn't overbuild during the McMansion era. However, if homebuyers are simply tolerating these big homes because they're what's available, then perhaps we did overbuild a bit over the past few decades.

The 10 markets with the greatest proportion of total bedrooms that could be deemed excessive are:

1. Ogden, Utah (12.2%)
2. Colorado Springs, Colo. (12.1%)
3. Salt Lake City, Utah (12%)
4. Memphis, Tenn. (11.8%)
5. Atlanta (11.6%)
6. Cleveland (11.3%)
7. Wichita, Kan. (11.3%)
8. Columbia, S.C. (10.8%)
9. Charleston, S.C. (10.7%)
10. Jackson, Miss. (10.7%)

The 10 markets with the smallest percentage of total bedrooms that could be deemed excessive are:

1. Miami (5.9%)
2. Sarasota, Fla. (6.4%)
3. New York (6.5%)
4. Los Angeles (6.6%)
5. New Haven, Conn. (6.7%)
6. Worcester, Mass. (6.9%)
7. Stockton, Calif. (6.9%)
8. Bakersfield, Calif. (7%)
9. Honolulu area (7%)
10. Providence, R.I. (7.1%)