It's Not Your Imagination: Your Tiny Apartment Is Getting Smaller

If you've been watching HGTV, you know that tiny houses are all the rage. But for those of us living in New York or San Francisco, tiny isn't a trend: it's a fact of life.

In these two pricey cities, the average size of new apartments built between 2010 and 2016 was 855 square feet, down from 894 square feet in the 2000-2009 period and much smaller than the new units coming onto the market in other parts of the U.S., according to a study by real estate consultants RCLCO. Still, whether you're living in exorbitant Manhattan or more affordable Phoenix, there's no denying: apartments nearly everywhere are shrinking.