Better housing is not the same as larger house. US tends to build large houses far away from everything where you have to drive just to get the groceries. For m

Better housing is not the same as larger house. US tends to build large houses far away from everything where you have to drive just to get the groceries. For many people, having smaller house/apartment somewhere you can walk to shop, school, visit friends, whatever and take car out only for longer trips is massively preferable. Likewise, smaller house with better insulation is better. At some point, bigger house translates to "more chores" and that is it.