At first blush, the year 2000 doesn’t feel that long ago. Now, in 2020, it’s still only about a fifth of the way into a new century, and plenty of people can vividly remember when that century turned. Still, 2000 was two decades ago. It was before 9/11and before the foreclosure crisis. The Grammy award winner for Best New Artist in 2000 was a teen named Christina Aguilera, who’s pushing 40 now. The New England Patriots had yet to win a Super Bowl. Twenty years ago is less recent than it sounds.
Home construction has changed since then in quite a few ways. Much like a home built in 2000 is different from a home built in 1980 – clothes chutes, anyone? – a home built in 2000 is different from one built in 2020. Here are five differences between homes then and now.
Homes got bigger
According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics that track new home construction starts and completions, the average square footage for a single-family home built in 2019 was 2,511. Back in 2000, the average size of a new home was 2,266 square feet. In 20 years, new homes have gotten 10 percent bigger.
The statistics are skewed a bit, too. Home sizes have actually trended slightly downward after 2015, as affordable housing has been in high demand.
Space is being used differently
Even with the recent trend toward smaller homes, the average single-family house is still larger than it was 20 years ago. So where is the extra space going?
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the percentage of four- and five-bedroom homes has grown over the past 10 years alone. Bigger homes tend to have more bedrooms.
But homes built in 2000 also didn’t as frequently have mudrooms or dedicated home offices as new homes have today. Open floor plans are also more common in modern homes than in 2000.
Location
The real estate rule of thumb is that it’s all about “location, location, location,” but that’s probably less the case in 2020 than it was in 2000.
Back then, the internet was still fairly new, and not every household or business had wireless internet. So working remotely was much less prevalent, which made commuting to a job more of a concern.
Homebuyers still value the physical location of a home, but work commutes don’t necessarily dominate the decision process. A home’s amenities and proximity to stores, restaurants, schools, and attractions have become priorities over how far it is from an office.
Technology
Smart home devices seem common today, but the first wireless thermostat wasn’t even available to consumers until 2011. In 2000, home automation was still something out of a futuristic movie.
Modern homes have more of a technology lean. Internet-connected thermostats are just one facet, however. Homes are also being built with house automation systems, smart locks, wi-fi garage door openers, and even sprinkler systems you can control with an app on your phone. None of this was around in 2000.
Energy efficiency
Technology has improved energy efficiency, too. LED light bulbs alone use much less power than incandescent bulbs, and builders can now not only just put in LED bulbs but install entire LED fixtures.
Improvements in windows and insulation over the years (as well as how they’ve changed industry standards) have also improved energy efficiency. According to the NAHB, multi-zone heating-and-cooling systems, tankless hot water, automated drapes and blinds, and LED fixtures all contribute to the energy-efficiency of a home.
A new home built today is quite a bit different from one built in 2000, in terms of space, technology, energy-efficiency and more. The year 2000 might not sound very distant in the past, but it terms of new home construction, it very much is in several significant ways.
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