DALLAS _ Don't believe what you hear about "tiny houses" and U.S. homes with shrinking footprints.
In the Dallas area, the McMansion is still the top housing address.
Big D is one of the U.S. markets with the largest number of big houses up for grabs, according to a new study by Realtor.com.
"When you look at the data, everything is bigger in Texas," said Realtor.com's Lance Lambert. "And among all the Texas cities with big housing markets and lots of McMansions, Dallas sits at the top."
Almost 40 percent of the Dallas-area homes listed for sale with real estate agents are 3,000 square feet or larger, Realtor.com found.
"In Dallas, the overall number of these homes over 3,000 is actually up over the last two years," Lambert said. "It's not fitting the narrative of people wanting to get smaller homes and having less space."
Lambert said one reason so many big houses are for sale in Dallas is that small homes sell almost as quickly as they come on the market due to demand for affordable housing.
Also, with so many people relocating to North Texas from more expensive home markets in the West and the Northeast, their housing dollars go a lot further. The average new house built in the area is more than 3,000 square feet compared with about 2,600 square feet nationwide.
"When people come to the Dallas market, they are met with bigger homes and getting more bang for their bucks," Lambert said. "Why not get a McMansion?"
When it comes to really big houses, Dallas _ which ranks sixth nationally _ can't compare with some Western cities where McMansions dominate the market.
In Provo, Utah, more than 70 percent of the homes for sale are more than 3,000 square feet. And in Denver, McMansions make up more than 60 percent of what's on the market.
