Amy Scott

Affordability is

has become a major issue.

And the old sort of ladder where people could buy a starter home for cheap and then move their way up has really, if not disappeared, become extremely difficult.

And so I think there is a change in both people's preferences, what they can afford.

And there's a big push around the country to increase the number of smaller homes so that people can buy into the real estate market.

So another thing you wrote about which struck me was that it's not so much how big our own house is that affects our happiness, but how big our house is in comparison to our neighbors.

Can you talk about that McMansion effect and how it contributes to satisfaction?

Sure.

Yeah, this was one of the biggest surprises for me as well.

I did know that people value things relative to others more than just its absolute value.

For example, people will want a smaller home so long as it's bigger than others.

But I was shocked at how much it actually affects our happiness.

And I did talk to someone who had done research on this.

And he basically said that larger homes don't increase our well-being.

Really, what matters most is how close the size of one's own house is to the largest houses in the neighborhood.

And the effect is so strong that it actually wipes out most of the happiness people gain from going into larger homes.

Did reporting on this change how you think about your own living situation?

Well, I live in a 968-some-square-feet apartment or condo in San Francisco.

And I love where we live.

And my wife and I, of course, we have two toddlers and a dog.