Houses are getting smaller. More people are renting. Are you ready to live with fewer square feet?


hen Becky Tillery and her husband bought a 1,180-square-foot house in a historic area of Huntsville, Alabama, many of her friends thought she was crazy: How was she going to cram three kids, two adults and a dog into such a tiny space?


But Tillery knew the 1950s cottage-style ranch would work


for her growing family. And she’s not alone in her move to scale back. Houses are getting smaller—the average size of a new


single-family home in 2009 was 2,438 square feet, compared with 2,521 in 2007, according to the National Association of Home Builders. And many more people are opting to rent apartments. In a May 2010 National Apartment Association survey, 76 percent of people said they believe renting is a better option than buying in the current market. But before you sell off your furniture and books and move


your family into a loſt , there are questions to ask about living smaller, both on a practical and fi nancial level.


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