More In Lifestyle

Living Large

Castles By The Beach Realty/McEwen Marketing Chicago Group/Morris and Fyrwald Sotheby's International Realty

Living Large No. 25 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Park City, Utah, 84060 No. 24 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Houston, 77024 No. 23 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Bethesda, Md., 20817 No. 22 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Aspen, Colo., 81611 No. 21 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Mars, Pa., 16046 No. 20 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Gibsonia, Pa., 15044 No. 19 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: McLean, Va., 22102 No. 18 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Beverly Hills, Calif., 90210 No. 17 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Purchase, N.Y., 10577 No. 16 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Boca Raton, Fla., 33432 No. 15 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: South Barrington, Ill., 60010 No. 14 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Sewickley, Pa., 15143 No. 13 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Greenwich, Conn., 06831 No. 12 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Paradise Valley, Ariz., 85253 No. 11 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Alpine, Utah, 84004 No. 10 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Hidden Hills, Calif., 91302 No. 9 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Wexford, Pa., 15090 No. 8 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Greenwood Village, Colo., 80121 No. 7 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Coral Gables, Fla., 33143 No. 6 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Pittsburgh, 15238 No. 5 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Atherton, Calif., 94027 No. 4 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Venetia, Pa., 15367 No. 3 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Leawood, Kan., 66211 No. 2 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 92067 No. 1 Zip Code with Biggest Homes for Sale: Cherry Hills Village, Colo., 80113

Living Large

By Venessa Wong

These days, buyers dreaming of moving into large homes may be disappointed to find that properties are getting smaller, a result of modesty in the economic downturn and increased attention to efficient homes. The average size of single-family homes declined slightly to 2,377 sq. ft. last year from a peak of 2,521 sq. ft. in 2007, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. By 2015, builders surveyed by the National Association of Home Builders expect the average home to shrink by another 10 percent to 2,152 sq. ft. Luckily for those who won't settle for a place with less than seven bathrooms, colossal homes have not disappeared. Listing data from Altos Research, a real-time real estate data company based in Mountain View, Calif., show many residential areas outside of urban centers have an ample supply of large homes, most measuring at least twice the national average. Based on the median square footage of homes for sale in 20,000 Zip Codes and 200 metro areas, Greater Pittsburgh had the largest number of areas with big houses, followed by Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and Coral Gables, Fla.

Click here to see the 25 areas with the biggest homes for sale.