In many places, a combination of requirements become a de facto floor on apartment size. Examples include requirements for natural light, parking minimums, and

In many places, a combination of requirements become a de facto floor on apartment size. Examples include requirements for natural light, parking minimums, and shared common spaces. Some cities, like Seattle, go so far as to set an explicit minimum apartment size. It's obviously going to be challenging to build a brand new $500/mo apartment if it cannot be less than 500 sqft. All that said, looking few brand new cheap apartments is generally the wrong approach. There's a whole filtering process of older apartments that's supposed to assure that. Similarly, nobody expects brand new cars to be price-competitive with fifteen year old Honda Civics.