A new census report says new homes are being built smaller.

Credit the economy, boomers downsizing, the cost of energy or a tighter credit market. The age of the McMansion may be waning.

In a US Census Bureau release, they found that the average new home is now 7% smaller than homes built it the 1990's

Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big Revolution, which advocates getting away from building or renovating homes that includes rooms that people hardly use says, "People are building smaller, their building better, and they're building houses that  represent who they are on the inside."

Others are not so sure this is a trend.  Kira McCarron, chief marketing officer for Toll Brothers Homebuilders said in CNN / Money ""The active adult product is taking a bigger share of the market right now," said McCarron, leading to more small homes and dragging the average new home-size data down." She notes that we are in a bad recession, and when people start really coming back, McMansion sales may come with it.

But as Susanka notes, "I've always said that square footage has nothing to do with the feeling of home, and I believe people are catching on to that."

Here is a video of Sarah Susanka discussing getting small.

(Photo of tiny house by flickr user Morticide used under a Creative Commons license.)