VOA慢速英语--为什么美国的房子越来越大

Many Americans like the idea of big, open spaces. So it might not be surprising that houses built in the United States are among the largest worldwide.

The size of the average American house is more than 100 percent bigger than it was in the 1950s. In 2019, the National Association of Homebuilders reported that the average size of a new single-family home was 240 square meters.

Information from that organization suggests that the size of new homes has gone down a little over the past five years. But over the long term, the average size has generally risen.

Louis Hyman is an economic historian and assistant professor at Cornell University in New York State. He says Americans' strong feelings about their homes may be tied, in part, to the country's past.

"The appeal of the house for Americans, going back into the 20th century, was that it signified autonomy," Hyman said.

He added that home ownership has been a sign of independence.

Support for home ownership

The federal government has taken steps to support the idea of a nation of homeowners. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was formed in 1934, during the presidency¹ of Franklin Roosevelt, to make it easier for Americans to own a home.

By creating the financial mortgage system that is still in use today, the FHA made home buying possible for millions of families.

The U.S. Census² Bureau reports that, in 1934, about two in every five householders owned their home. By 2001, the homeownership rate had risen to 68 percent.

In the 1940s, Roosevelt compared homeownership with citizenship³. He said that a "nation of homeowners, of people who own a real share in their own land, is unconquerable."

Today, the homeownership rate is about 65 percent.

Investment in homes has covered up the effects of low real wage growth for many Americans.

Unemployment remains⁴ near record lows. But real wages have not grown much in recent years. Economists⁵ use real wages when they study the effects of inflation on the value of money over time.

In a report, the Pew Research Center suggested that real wages have changed little in the United States since 1964.

Hyman noted⁶ that Americans started investing in homes after the 1970s, which was a period of high inflation and economic problems.

"The houses became a way for average Americans to get financial leverage⁷, which can multiply their returns," Hyman said.

Status symbol or investment?

For many Americans, owning a large home is a status symbol. They may feel that a big house is physical proof that they have succeeded in life, notes architectural historian William Richards.

He added: "This kind of classical example of the big suburban⁸ home has been a very powerful idea for many, many decades now."

And big houses are less costly⁹ than they used to be.

"In the design and construction, there are greater efficiencies now for all sorts of reasons so that it's less expensive to build a bigger house now," Richards said.

But do bigger houses make people happier? Not necessarily says Clément Bellet of the European business school INSEAD. He wrote about the issue as part of his university studies.

Although single-family houses have become larger since the 1980s, "house satisfaction has remained steady in American suburbs," Bellet wrote.

Bellet added that people living in larger houses often are more satisfied with their property, but their satisfaction can disappear when even bigger houses are built nearby.

Words in This Story

autonomy – n. the ability to make one's own decisions

mortgage – n. a legal agreement by which a bank or other company lends money to a home buyer

unconquerable – adj. of or related to something that cannot be defeated

real wages – n. a tool used by economists that shows the value of pay over long periods of time, and that considers the effects of inflation

leverage – n. the use of credit to increase the amount of money spent on a home purchase

multiply – v. to increase or reproduce in number

status symbol – n. something that a person owns which is costly and shows that they are rich or at a high level in society

classic – adj. very usual, a common example

expensive – adj. pricey or costly

steady – adj. firm in position; not moving

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

8 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。