I think that depends on what area you are located. I'm in Central TX and one story seems to be the norm rather than the exception. I just came back from a builder's showcase in a subdivision where the houses are a minimum of 5000sf and no less than $1M. I saw eight houses and all of them were one story (couple of them had bonus rooms over the garage).

My house is almost 3500sf, one story with a finished bonus room. It's a custom plan I designed myself, well, modified beyond recognition from another plan which was the Southern Living 2003 Idea House.

We, too, are empty nesters planning for the time when stair climbing might be an issue. We're building a one-storey house in Austin. Actually, because of the slope of the lot, the garage is on an upper level, but all of the living areas are on a single level. We have a place for an elevator in case the time ever comes when stairs will be too difficult to maneuver.

When we got our appraisal for the construction loan, we didn't have enough square feet to justify the loan, so we ended up adding about 400 SF as a guest suite that is also on the garage level. We're not worried about kids and grandkids traversing the stairs.

My DH and I will be building a one story home next year and we will be empty nesters also :) Here is a link to the home we will be building:
http://www.globalhouseplans.com/plan_details.asp?id=370&st=10

We are building a single story home in Prescott, AZ that I have designed and for which I am just finiishing the plans. Total 1st floor conditioned area = 2341 ft^2. Garage = 718 ft^2. Deck = 912 ft^2. Walkout basement (under master BR and Closet) = 432 ft^2.

The South side of house will look out over a National forest...our lot has over 30 mature ponderosa pines on it. South side of the house will be mostly windows and sliding glass doors to expose the view.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1448627}}

This is the plan we are building. We are not in the US, but thought it may give another perspective.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1448628}}

We are building a one story home. We chose the Donald Gardner plan the Zeller. We are 6 months into our build and can finally see some progress. We are now counting the days until we can move in. I have not updated the photos, shame on me. Our walls are being plastered. We are so pleased with the quality of their work.
http://www.dongardner.com/images.aspx?pid=2700&fn=renderings%5c1014f.jpg&f=
We needed a one story home, but liked the expansion possibilities this plan offered. This plan includes 9ft ceilings on the main floor and a full upper level. I am looking forward to a storage area that does not require a pull down ladder. The basement has 8 ft. ceilings. We added an extra garage bay and the additional space behind to the MB. We included a walkout basement, omitted the screen porch and opted for a deck instead.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dragonfly Photos

We are building a one story 3400 square foot home with a basement. We have no children. I have often mentioned to DH that in 30 years you won't be able to give away a two story home in this neighborhood! Harsh I know . In my present area all the new homes are two stories. One story houses are rare because the lot sizes are so small. Our house is being built about 30 miles away and sits on acreage.

I think you will be happy with a one story.

Teresa

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Dragonfly, I was looking at the Zeller. Nice plan. How did you determine if you could afford to build this plan? I don't see this information on the website...Roughly speaking what was the cost per sq foot to excavate the basement? (if you don't mind me asking)just trying to get a feel for costs here.

When DH and I were looking for a one-story house 8 - 10 years ago I commented that there were so few being built. Now that builders have woken up to the vast (and relatively well-off) Baby Boomer market, there are plenty, and they aren't all "starter home, production builder grade". These Boomers want quality.

We couldn't find an existing single story home that was as nice as we wanted although there were many two-story homes in our price range. We bought a teardown ranch and built a 2900 sq ft single story with a huge walk-up attic. The attic can become additional BRs and baths should another owner want more space. It added about 10% to our cost but the one-acre lot justifies a 6000 sq ft home in our suburb. The old ranch on an acre next door has just become a 5000 sq ft two story.

It's hard to tell anyone what their construction costs will be. Labor costs vary so much. Our house is insured at the supposed replacement cost of $260 per sq ft.

Truzella, We owned the land and hired a contractor to build our home. They quoted a price before we purchased the plan.
The excavation ended up being equal (or so they say) for the two plus acres of hardwood that was taken during the clearing. I don't have a figure for you. I do think that costs differ from one area to another. You will need to talk to someone who could give you a quote from your area.
Sorry I could not answer your question.

Everybody can live in a one story but that is not true about a 2 story, especially if the master bedroom is on the 2nd floor.

I don't think you have to worry about resale at all.

I just read that by 2011, half of all homeowners will be over age 50! I've also been reading about the Baby Boomers wanting one story homes now. So, the market will be increasingly in your favor.

The reason production/spec builders build so many 2-stories is profitability. They can put them on smaller lots than they can the same size house that's one story. When you build your own, if you can afford the land, you can build what you want.

Chisue: I might have to hail you later on about your build. We, too, bought a teardown, not yet torn down. We're building an approximately 2900 sq. ft. ranch. Still in the design phase. I never thought I'd be in the height of fashion--doing a teardown is getting more popular with land more scarce. But here I am.

I HAD wanted a one story home, but instead we have opted to have a 4 bedroom house designed by an architect with the majority of the living space on the ground floor. We will have a couple bedrooms with a Jack and Jill bath upstairs. That way if we have guests or my daughter and her family (hopefully she will have one some day) then they will have their own area. We will have 2 bedrooms down (one will be converted into an exercise room with a separate full bath). I have plans to include a large cedar closet upstairs, too. Then we will have an unfinished bonus room above the 3 car garage for storage (bc of no basement). We will most likely be roughing in plumbing, telephone and cable along with vents to heat/cool area in the bonus area for better resale or later refinishing, if we want. We don't plan to heat or cool it when used just for storage, though.

If we had decided to build all our bedrooms upstairs, I would definitely plan in an elevator or have one installed along with a staircase to access the upstairs, as well. That would be another way to make your 2-story home more accessible as you age.

I know that there are many different crowds, but I wouldn't worry about potential resale when building a one-story. We're choosing to build a (mostly-one-story) home because we're sooooo tired of having to watch kids around our stairs in our current home.

The plan we're building, there is an upstairs, but it's just a bonus room which will be our guest suite. The stairs will be behind a close-able door (yayyy!) and everything that we need in our day-to-day living will be on the main floor. Can't wait! Oh, and this is coming from a relatively "young" couple building a one-story (I'm 28)!

Good luck in your build...here's what our floorplan started out as (we've made lots of changes to the size of the rooms and such).
http://www.coolhouseplans.com/details.html?pid=32450

Our one story plan is from houseplans.com #310-230. It has an optional bonus room over the garage, which we will finish because we have two young children, and we need a playroom. We are having separate heat/air units going to specific areas, so we can completely block that space off when the children are gone. We had originally planned on building a two story, but realizing it will be our forever house we changed our minds to accomodate our future. I think many people think along these same lines. I think a one story is actually a positive selling point.

One-floor homes are great regardles of your age. Our "starter" home (for 30 years) was a ranch. Our present home is a single-story. I've only lived in a two-story twice: my childhood home and a townhome we had for two years before DS came along and we bought the ranch.

Our present dog agrees. He's afraid of stairs! LOL

I think there will always be demand for two-story homes because people young enough to have kids at home are usually fit enough to climb stairs. And even if people don't want to climb stairs themselves, they might still be happy with guest rooms upstairs.

The average age of homeowners may be rising, but people too old for stairs are likely to be too old for 6000 sq ft homes as well. So I suspect that in many markets there will always be a tendency for the really big homes to be two-story.

I think as long as you choose the right home for you and one that suits your neighborhood you can't go wrong either way.

If I would have built my "dream home" when I was in my 20's I surely would have built 2 story, but building in the 50's and 60's, one story is the only way we'll go. LOL

Both in my current neighborhood and in the neighborhood I will be building in, about 70% of the homes are either single-story or have a downstairs master. I've noticed the change in trend from 5-10 years ago being mostly two-story homes with upstairs masters or single-story homes; you rarely saw a downstairs master with the exception of a few custom homes.

We designed our own one-story floorplan from scratch. The only upstairs we have is an outdoor lookout, which is fitting for our area to take advantage of the vineyard views. Build what you want without worrying too much about resale; you can't go wrong either way. Just remember to HAVE a bedroom suite downstairs if you go two-story. Having NO bedroom downstairs will probably be the most likely factor to affect the resale value of your home.

What we're seeing here where the houses are very large is the installation of an elevator. Age is not the only issue. Stairs can become a major problem overnight with just one broken leg, advanced or difficult pregnancy, visiting elderly relatives, etc. It's good universal design--another major design trend that's here!

It's really hard where I live to find a one story house, so I'm building one. I have a 7 year old daughter with disabilities, and I'm building it to maximize her independence.

At the same time, it's going to be nice on my aging knees. :)

Summer