When shopping for a new construction home in the Myrtle Beach area, most buyers start with the same question: "How many square feet?" It's a natural instinct—bigger sounds better, right? But asking about square footage alone is like asking about the weight of a car without considering what kind of car it is. In 2026, with new construction homes becoming increasingly efficient and thoughtfully designed, square footage has become a misleading metric that can cost buyers thousands of dollars and years of regret.
The Square Footage Myth Doesn't Reflect Real Value
Here's a hard truth from the data: a 1,800-square-foot home can feel significantly larger and more functional than a 2,000-square-foot home. Similarly, a 2,200-square-foot home might feel cramped and poorly organized. The difference isn't the total number—it's how that space is designed and used.
According to Zillow's Consumer Housing Trends Report (2024), when buyers evaluated homes, 84% said having a floor plan that fit their preferences was very or extremely important. Yet floor plan quality doesn't show up in any square-footage calculation. A home with an efficient layout, open flow between main living areas, and minimal wasted hallway space will feel significantly larger than a home with the same total square footage but poor spatial organization.
In Horry County, where new construction is booming with over 1,681 active new homes for sale (Redfin, January 2026), builders are increasingly prioritizing livable square footage over gross square footage. That distinction is everything.
What Gets Counted as "Square Footage" Often Isn't Where You Live
Here's where square footage becomes dangerous: it includes every inch of your home, whether you actually live in it or not. Hallways, closets, bathrooms, and mechanical spaces all count the same as your bedroom or kitchen—but you don't spend your life in a hallway.
A poorly designed home might have 300 square feet of wasted circulation—long, narrow hallways that serve no purpose except to move from one room to the next. A well-designed home minimizes this dead space. So when comparing two 2,000-square-foot homes in the Grand Strand, one might have 1,650 square feet of genuinely livable space while the other has only 1,350. That's a 300-square-foot difference in what actually matters—and it won't show up in the listing.
The Housing Design Matters research team analyzed this problem directly: when you compare a floor plan with excessive circulation space against one with efficient flow, the poorly designed plan wastes thousands of dollars on square footage you'll never use. For Myrtle Beach buyers in competitive markets, this matters enormously.
Smaller, Smarter Homes Are the New Construction Trend
The national median price for new construction homes stood at $451,337 in Q3 2025, according to Realtor.com's latest New-Construction Insights report. But here's the plot twist: builders are now constructing smaller, more efficient homes than they did five years ago. The median new home size dropped to 2,100 square feet in 2025, down 100 square feet year-over-year and 200 square feet below pre-pandemic averages (Zillow, August 2025).
Why? Builders have figured out what smart buyers are discovering: square footage is expensive, and most families don't actually need 2,500-square-foot homes to live well. A 1,900-square-foot home with an open kitchen-dining-living layout, a flex room for a home office, and efficient bedrooms often feels more livable than a sprawling 2,300-square-foot home with choppy rooms and disconnected spaces.
In Myrtle Beach specifically, new construction pricing hovers around $200 per square foot on average, with homes ranging from $160–$210 per square foot depending on location within Horry County and finish level (NAHB, October 2025). Paying extra per square foot for wasted space in a poorly planned layout is simply a bad investment.
Price Per Square Foot Comparison is Broken
New construction homes in the South—including South Carolina's Grand Strand—now offer better value on a per-square-foot basis than existing homes. The median new home price per square foot is $218.66 compared with $226.56 for resale homes, a significant gap that favors buyers choosing new construction (Realtor.com, Q2 2025).
But this comparison is itself flawed when you're looking at two new homes side by side. A home listed at $250 per square foot might actually be cheaper to live in than a home at $235 per square foot if the layout is superior. Energy efficiency, room placement, the flow between spaces, and smart storage all drive actual value—none of which shows up in a per-square-foot calculation.
Real appraisers and experienced builders know this. They evaluate homes on layout efficiency, room proportion, natural light, traffic flow, and how the space actually supports daily life. That's why a 1,900-square-foot home in a well-planned community can outperform a 2,100-square-foot home at a lower price.
What Actually Matters When Comparing New Construction Homes
If square footage is misleading, what should you focus on? Here are the real factors that determine whether a new home will feel right:
Floor plan efficiency and flow: Can you move naturally from the kitchen to dining to living areas? Are bedrooms logically separated from active spaces? Do hallways serve a purpose or just eat square footage?
Usable living area: What percentage of the home's total square footage is devoted to rooms you actually occupy? High-quality plans typically exceed 80% usable space; poorly designed ones might be as low as 65%.
Room proportions: Are bedrooms sized for actual furniture? Is the kitchen functional, or is it cramped? Does the primary suite feel like a retreat?
Natural light and sightlines: Does the layout allow light to move through the home? Can you see sight lines that make spaces feel larger?
Outdoor connection: How does the home connect to decks, patios, or yard space? Does the layout support indoor-outdoor living?
Flexibility: Does the floor plan adapt to your life? Flex rooms, home offices, and multipurpose spaces matter far more than an extra 100 square feet of formal dining room you'll never use.
Energy efficiency: A well-designed, efficiently insulated 1,900-square-foot new construction home will cost significantly less to heat and cool than a sprawling 2,200-square-foot existing home or poorly designed new build.
New Construction in Horry County: Smart Design Wins
Carolina Crafted Homes and other local builders in the Myrtle Beach market understand this shift. New construction on the Grand Strand increasingly prioritizes smart design over raw square footage. Homes are being built with open-concept gathering spaces, flex rooms for remote work, and efficient bedrooms—maximizing how families actually live in 2026, not how they lived in 2006.
When you walk through new construction homes in Horry County neighborhoods, you'll see the difference immediately. A 1,850-square-foot plan with an open kitchen, a separate dining area, a large living space, and a dedicated flex room will feel more valuable—and live better—than a 2,000-square-foot plan with disconnected rooms and excessive hallway space.
The data backs this up: According to Zillow's latest trends, the most desirable new construction features center on flow and flexibility—not total square footage. Modern homebuyers prioritize how a home works over how much it measures.
The Bottom Line
Stop asking "How many square feet?" and start asking "How does it feel to live in?" A smaller home built with intent, designed with flow, and finished with quality will outperform a larger home designed poorly or built with cut corners every single time. Square footage is just a number. How a home lives—that's what matters.
Carolina Crafted Homes builds homes that work for how you actually live. Let's talk about a floor plan that fits your lifestyle—not just hits a number.
FAQS
Q1: Is a 2,000-square-foot new construction home better than a 1,800-square-foot home?
Not necessarily. A 1,800-square-foot home with an efficient floor plan, open gathering spaces, and smart layout can feel larger and live better than a 2,000-square-foot home with poor design, excessive hallways, and disconnected rooms. The quality and organization of space matter far more than the total number.
Q2: How much of a home's square footage is actually usable living space?
It depends on design quality. A well-planned new construction home typically dedicates 75–85% of total square footage to actual living spaces (bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms, living areas), while the remaining 15–25% goes to hallways, closets, and mechanical spaces. Poorly designed homes may be as low as 65% usable space. In Myrtle Beach new construction, builders are increasingly maximizing usable square footage through open concepts and efficient layouts.
Q3: Why are new construction homes shrinking in size?
Builders have learned that smaller, more efficiently designed homes meet buyer needs better than sprawling designs. The median new home size dropped to 2,100 square feet in 2025 from 2,300 square feet in 2022 (Zillow). Smaller homes are more affordable, more energy-efficient, and easier to maintain—especially in the Myrtle Beach market where land costs are rising.
Q4: What's more important: price per square foot or total price?
Neither metric tells the whole story. Price per square foot ignores location, layout quality, and usable space; total price ignores affordability. Instead, focus on whether the floor plan fits your lifestyle, how efficiently it's designed, and what percentage is genuinely livable space. A $300,000 home at $165 per square foot with an excellent layout may offer better value than a $280,000 home at $155 per square foot with poor flow.
Q5: How can I evaluate a floor plan before touring a home in person?
Review the floor plan online before visiting. Look for: (1) logical flow between main living areas, (2) minimal wasted hallway space, (3) bedroom placement away from active living zones, (4) open kitchen-dining-living connections, (5) adequate closet/storage integration, and (6) access to outdoor space. Walk the plan with your daily routine in mind—can you see yourself living there comfortably?
Q6: Are new construction homes in Horry County energy-efficient despite size?
Yes. New construction homes in 2026 are built to modern energy codes with better insulation, efficient HVAC systems, and smart design (like smaller footprints and better window placement) than older homes. A 1,900-square-foot new construction home in Myrtle Beach will typically cost 20–30% less to heat and cool than a similar-sized existing home or sprawling poorly designed home.
